Class 
Book 



SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT 



GRIGG & ELLIOT'S 

NEW SERIES OF 

COMMON SCHOOL READERS, 

Numbers First, Second, Third, and Fourth. 

These books are particularly adapted for an introduction into the Schools gene- 
rally in the South and West ; and Teachers who feel a deep interest in promoting 
the welfare of their pupils, will, no doubt, after a careful examination, give them 
the preference over all other Readers now in use. 



To Teachers, Principals and Controllers of Schools, Acade* 
mies and Colleges, throughout the United States. 



Lee's Port, Berks Co., Aug. 25, 1845. 

Messrs, Grigg Elliot : 

Gentlemen, — Accept my thanks for the series of Readers you were so kind as 
to send me by my friend Dr. Darrah, when he was last in the city. I consider 
them decidedly the best School Readers I have met with. I have introduced them 
into the school at this place, and find them fully to answer my expectations. I have 
also introduced Grimshaw's History of the United States, another of your valuable 
School publications. I am very much pleased with Dr. Ruschenberger's works on 
Anatomy and Botany, which you kindly sent me. They appear to be just the 
works needed to bring the subject of Natural History within the compass of our 
Comr on Schools ; and I intend, during the* coming winter, to make an effort to 
introt the subject into the school here; and for this purpose, I would like to 
possess the whole series of eight uniform volumes, which I have requested Dr. 
Darrak to procure for me. Very respectfully, H. C. BAKER, 

Principal Lee's Port Seminary. 



From the Whig Courier, Pulaski, Tenn. 

SCHOOL BOOKS.-— We have received, by the hands of Messrs. Martin & 
Topp, of Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, a copy of their "New Series of 
Common School Readers. " As this series has been so often recommended to Teach- 
ers, School Committees and Parents, by the press, and so far as we are able to 
judge, justly, properly and worthily too, we feel no hesitancy in endorsing the fol- 
lowing — from John Frost, LL.D., Professor of Belles Letters in the Philadel- 
phia High School : — 

44 1 have p- amined your Readers with great pleasure, and have no hesitation in 
recommendi them to the special favour of Parents, Teachers, and School Com- 
mittees ; they are calculated to be eminently interesting to the young, from the 
happy style of narration, dialogue and description, which pervades the series ; but 
their chief excellence is their unexceptionable moral tendency. It would 
hardly be too much to say, they comprise a complete system of moral instruction, 
and in this point of view, I know of no books used in Common Schools which are 
preferable to them." 



grigg & elliot's common school readers. 



From the Richmond (Ind.) Palladium. 
Every attempt to facilitate the education of children, to elevate the standard of 
morality, and to convey useful knowledge, should receive the helping hand of the 
public. — It is true there is already a great variety of elementary works, written 
expressly for the use of schools ; but it is not less true that there is a great diversity 
of taste to be provided for ; and it is often that new books have to be written or 
compiled to fill up some apprehended void left by preceding authors. The improve- 
ment in the modes of educating the juvenile mind, which has been superinduced 
upon methods once in use, has been so rapid of late years, that like a vast and pon- 
derous superstructure it has almost pressed that upon which it is based, entirely out 
of view. — As experienced and skilful investigation into the philosophy of mind dic- 
tate new plans of tuition, books once popular become obsolete ; being displaced 
from the favour of the public by those which have been constructed upon principles 
commensurate with the advancement of the age. 

The series of " Common School Readers" by Grigg & Elliot, consists of four 
"numbers" or separate books, which the compiler has endeavoured to constitute 
an easy gradation, passing from No. 1 to No. 4. From the cursory examination of 
the series, we should conclude that the author has been successful in presenting 
his young readers with lessons * 4 easy, intelligible, instructive and interesting.' ' 
There is a vein of seriousness blended with an innocent sprightliness, running 
through the several volumes, which marks the moralist and gives an air of sincerity 
to the compilation , and raises the books above the suspicion of being, like too many 
products of the press, a catch-penny production. The books are got up in a most 
substantial manner, and are decorated with numerous well executed wood-cuts, 
which cannot fail to attract and gratify the youthful eye. If some of the amusing 
stories, introduced into these volumes, do not succeed in alleviating the tediousness 
of the school hours, and enlivening for a time the wearied mind, we shall be much 
disappointed. 

These books will be sold at a much less price than the Eclectic Series now in 
general use, and are in all respects equal, and in some particulars superior to them. 
They can be had at the Richmond Bookstore, by the wholesale or retail. 



From the Yazoo Banner, Benton, Miss. 

The well known establishment of Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, has lately issued 
a new series of their " Common School Readers," and has forwarded us a set of 
them for examination. They contain many valuable and chaste pieces, admirably 
adapted to the youthful mind ; and we would like to see them introduced into our 
schools and academies. We take great pleasure in giving place to the subjoined 
notice of this new " Series," by Mr. E. W. Kee^aeis, an accomplished and popu- 
lar teacher in this county, who is as competent, perhaps, to judge of such works 
as any man in this community. 

Our friend E. G. McKee has them for sale at his store in this place. 

" Having been requested to examine ' Grigg & Elliot's new series of Common 
School Readers,' sold by E. G. McKee, Benton, I have no hesitation in pronounc- 
ing them superior to any w T orks of the kind now in use, highly calculated, by their 



grigg & Elliot's common school readers. 



S 



chaste and judicious selections of interesting matter, to improve those for whose 
advantage they are intended ; and as such, would respectfully recommend them to 
the attention of Teachers and others." 



From the Wabash Gazette, 
t 

A new series of school books has been laid upon our table by Messrs. Grigg & 
Elliot of Philadelphia. We last evening gave them a careful perusal, and feel a 
pleasure in recommending them to the public, as well calculated to instruct the 
young mind and leave impressions upon it of a desirable nature. Several very inte- 
resting and entertaining stories are embraced within the two first numbers, all cal- 
culated to give the right direction to youthful thoughts. The third of the series is 
selections from authors of acknowledged pre-eminence and depth of sober thought. 
The compiler has displayed superior taste and judgment in these selections, draw- 
ing upon many of the ancient Philosophers, as well as authors of our own times. 
We believe that the whole series is for sale by Wm. Brown & Son of this city. 
Those who place these books iff the hands of their little ones will never regret it. 



From the Lexington (Mo.) Express. 
The publishers have politely favoured us with a copy of each of the above series. 
We have only partially examined them, but we are convinced from the short time 
we devoted to their perusal, that they are among the best school books now extant. 
They afford progressive exercises for the learner in the art of reading, at the same 
time that they convey a large amount of useful knowledge, particularly adapted t© 
the wants of the rising generation of this country. The books may be found at 
the store of \Yuu Bell, Jr., in this place. 



From the Knoxville (Tenn.) Register. 
We have received from the publishers, Messrs, Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, 
the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th volumes of their new series of Common School Readers. 
They appear admirably adapted for the purposes intended, are well printed and 
firmly bound. Prof, Frost, of the Philadelphia High School, recommends them in 
strong terms, and says they are calculated to be eminently interesting to the young, 
from the happy style of narration, dialogue and description, which pervades the 
series; but their chief excellence is their mexceftienaUe moral tendency. It would 
hardly be too much to say, that they comprise a complete system of moral instruc- 
tion, These books are for sale by Messrs. Smith and French of this city. 



From the Democratic Agister, FickensmTle, Ala. 
MessTs. Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, have politely sent us, by the hands of 
Messrs. Bush, Brother & Co., merchants of this place, copies of their new series 
of Common School Readers. We have looked through these books, and consider 
the selections good, and the plan of arrangement convenient and appropriate. We 
append a notice of them, from a Philadelphia Paper. The books are for sale m 
Pickensville and Carrollton, by Messrs. Bush, Brother & Co, 



4 



grigg & elliot's common school readers. 



From the Philadelphia Gazette, 
These are four little volumes to be used in schools, as reading books. They 
afford progressive exercises for the learner in the art of reading, at the same time 
that they convey a large amount of useful knowledge, particularly adapted to the 
wants of the rising generation of this country. This is a most important part of 
elementary instruction, to which less than due attention has been paid. We cor- 
dially endorse the commendation of the series given by Professor Frost, of the 
High School. 



From the Alabama Reporter, Talladega. 
Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, have kindly sent us a copy of their 
series of Common School Readers, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. We have examined 
them carefully and find them first rate books for children just commencing to read, 
number 2 being for those a little further advanced, and number 3 for those still 
further. Their moral tendency is unexceptionable, and withal they amuse the 
learner, while they convey instruction in the rudiments of the most valuable arts 
and sciences, and history. We take great pleasure in recommending them with 
confidence to parents, teachers, and all those who have the care of the young of 
either sex. The books are for sale by Messrs. John Hardie & Co. of Mardisville. 



From the Philadelphia Enquirer Courier. 
Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, No. 9 north Fourth street, have just published Nos. 1, 
2, 3 and 4 of their new series of Common School Readers. These are among the 
best works of the kind that are issued in our country. Professor Frost, of the 
High School, recommends them to the especial attention of parents, teachers and 
school committees, and says they are calculated to be eminently interesting to the 
young, from the happy style of narration, dialogue and description, which pervades 
the series ; but their chief excellence is their unexceptionable moral tendency. 
They are issued in a cheap and substantial form, and are sold at very low prices. 



From the North American. 
Messrs. Grigg & Elliot have issued four books, designed as progressive exer- 
cises in reading, for the use of learners. The object of publications of this kind is 
an important one, and, until of late years, it has not sufficiently engaged the atten- 
tion of those who labour especially in the cause of juvenile instruction. The plan 
of these books is to afford not only exercises in reading as an art, but to convey at 
the same time, peculiarly useful knowledge for the rising generation of this country. 
We cordially endorse the commendation of the series given by Professor Frost, of 
the High School. 



From the Democratic Recorder, Fredericksburg, Va. 
We are indebted to the publishers, Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, for a 
new series of reading books for schools, just issued by them. We have examined 
them with care, and recommend them with much pleasure. The introductory le»- 



grigg & Elliot's common school readers. 



5 



sons are well calculated to induce a fondness for reading, and to imprint upon the 
youthful mind the soundest moral impressions. One great fault of some other read- 
ing books, is completely remedied in this:— the transition from one book to the 
other is easy and natural. The scholar is not presumed to have doubled his know- 
ledge when his text book is doubled in size. The embellishments (a thing not to 
be neglected when catering for juveniles) are remarkably good. To be had at 
White's. 



From the Washington (Pa.) Reporter. 

We are indebted, through Mr. H. M. Koontz & Co., to the firm of Grigg & El 
Hot, extensive book publishers of Philadelphia, for a complete " series of Common 
School Readers,' 9 comprised in 4 volumes. We have given them a cursory peru- 
sal, and also handed them to an esteemed female teacher, an admirable judge in 
such matters, who unites with us in pronouncing them most meritorious. 

The series is handsomely gotten up, being interspersed with appropriate engrav- 
ings. The arrangement is excellent, and the matter unexceptionable in its moral 
tone and tendency. 



From the Beading Gazette. 

Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, have favoured us with copies of their 
new series of Common School Readers, selected from some of the best works of 
their kind, and prepared for the gradual instruction of scholars, which would be 
found of great service if introduced into all our common schools. 

The Reader, No. 1, is prepared specially for beginners, and contains pieces 
easily intelligible, instructive and interesting, illustrated with engravings, and treats 
of matters and in language such as any child can understand. 

Reader, No. 2, is the old Pleasing Companion, a work which has, for some 
years, held a deserved esteem in school instruction. The selections it comprises, it 
is well known, are of the most pleasing kind ; and instead of making reading a 
task, sufficiently interests the scholar to read and understand its fascinating instruc- 
tions. 

Reader, No. 3, is another work of reputation — and its admirable lessons of moral 
and religious instruction, have secured it a place in many schools. The object of 
the work — " to inculcate the necessity and duty of general, domestic and national 
economy and simplicity of manners," is one of interest to every patriot ; and there 
certainly can be no better mode to perpetuate that object, than to instruct the rising 
generation in its principles. 

An examination of the work will strictly satisfy, that if the end be not accom- 
plished, it is no fault of the compiler. 



From the Gallatin (Tenn.) Union. 
We acknowledge the receipt, from Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, of four 
volumes of reading books for common schools. — From a cursory review of their 
contents we are well pleased with them, and would recommend them to be used in 
our schools. 



6 



grigg & elliot's common school readers. 



From the U. S, Gazette. 

Messrs. Grigg & Elliot have published a series of reading books for common 
schools, prepared with a special reference to the progression of scholars, ^ach les- 
son referring to some subject of interest to the young, so that the pupil will have 
an interest in his lesson, and not read merely because " it is his turn now." 

The compiler of the work has had a special eye to sound morals, to pure bene- 
volence, and to the application for good of all his pieces, and hence his series com- 
mend themselves to high approval. We have some special acquaintance with the 
use of the works, and are glad to see that the first is a proper introduction to its 
successor ; so that we may, and do, confidently recommend the series as eminently 
deserving a place in schools, as well from their moral tendency, as from the adapta- 
tion of the contents to the progression of the scholar in classes. 



From the Olive Branch, Youngstown, Ohio. 

Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, Pa., have published a new series of Common 
School Books, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. They are, so far as our opinion is worth any 
thing, worthy of being adopted by an enlightened public ; their chief excellence 
being the moral instructions communicated. 

They are highly recommended by distinguished literary gentlemen in the east. 
■ Messrs. Grigg & Elliot have a variety of other School Books, which they flatter* 
themselves are equally worthy of general reception by the intelligent part of our 
community. 



From the Harrison Republican, Cadiz, Ohio. 
We have now on our table, through the politeness of Messrs. Grigg, & Elliot, of 
No. 9, North 4th St. Philadelphia, their New Series of Common School Readers, 
comprising Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. The books are particularly adapted to the West— 
and we think no way inferior to the Eclectic Readers, that have gained so much 
celebrity among us — which have been imposed upon the public at an exorbitant 
price by the publisher. The New Series are intended to answer the place of the 
Eclectic, at much lower prices, and embracing all of the facilities of the former. 



From the Charleston Mercury. 
Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, have published an interesting series of 
books, which we commend to the attention of teachers. A series of Readers, 
adapted to successive classes, which seem to us well selected and arranged. A far 
more important series, and one long called for, in the shape of elementary scientific 
treatises on the following subjects: — -Mammalogy: Ornithology: Herpetolo- 
logy and Ichthyo'logy : Botany : Conchology : Anatomy and Physiology. 
These works are prepared by Dr. Ruschenberger, on the plan and materials of 
similar books used in the public schools of France. They are illustrated with the 
necessary plates, and are complete in their treatment of the subject, and undoubt- 
edly deserve a place in our now meagre list of elementary class books of science. 
These works are for sale by McCarter & Allen. 



grigg & elliot's common school readers. 



7 



From the Indiana State Journal, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Our friend Davis has now for sale a new and valuable lot of books, among 
which is a very valuable series of School Books, viz : Grigg Elliot's New Series 
of Common School Readers. These Readers are comprised of four parts adapted 
to the youngest and more advanced class of children. We have attentively exa- 
mined these books, and have no hesitation in recommending them as the cheapest 
and most useful series that has come under our observation. 



From the Sangamo Journal. 

'We have received from Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, a series of read- 
ing books for common schools ; " prepared with a special reference to the pro- 
gression of scholars, each lesson referring to some subject of interest to the young, 
so that the pupil will have an interest in his lesson, and not read merely because 
'it is his turn now.' " 



From the Galena Sentinel. 
Grigg & Elliot's new series of Common School Readers, comprising four num- 
bers, have been laid on our table ; they will be found for sale at the store of F. & 
N. Stahl.— After giving them a careful examination, we cannot give them a better 
recommendation than the flattering notices we have seen, from John Frost, LL.D., 
Professor of Belles Lettres in the Philadelphia High School, and others. 



From the Caddo Gazette, Shreeveport, La. 
We have received from Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, through our 
fellow townsman, J. W. Morris, four numbers of the Common School Reader, 
designed for the use of common schools, and families. From the examination 
which we have given them, we are compelled to say that they are admirably 
adapted to the purposes for which they were designed. No. 1 contains a series of 
simple narratives entirely within the comprehension of any child, and the syllables 
are divided so as greatly to facilitate pronunciation. — Nos. 2 and 3 contain, the first, 
familiar stories, welL calculated to interest the youthful mind ; the last a " Moral 
Instructor and Guide to Virtue, being a Compendium of Moral Philosophy with 
Practical Rules for the Conduct of Life." The books possess much merit, and 
we doubt not that they will eventually obtain general circulation and use. 



From the Highland Messenger, Asheville, N. C. 

T We have received from the publishers, Messrs. Grigg & Elliot, of Philadelphia, 
copies of their series of Common School Readers, Nos. 1,2, 3 and 4. They have 
been recently published, and we have no hesitancy in recommending them to pa- 
rents and teachers, on account of their great moral excellence, as well as their per- 
fect adaptation to the wants of the community, as a complete and thorough system 
of instructioR in reading. 



8 



grigg & elliot's common school readers. 



From the Peoria (III.) Register. 
Through the politeness of Andrew Gray, Esq., who has just returned from the 
city of Philadelphia, we have been presented with a copy of Grigg & Elliot's new 
series of Common School Readers, intended for the instruction of children, and 
upon a careful examination of them, we feel justified in saying that a better series 
of school books cannot be put into the hands of the rising generation. 



RUSCHENBERGER'S FIRST BOOKS OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
For Schools, Colleges and Families. 

1. Elements of Anatomy and Physiology, 

2. Elements of Mammalogy, the Natural History of Quadrupeds, 

3. Elements of Ornithology, the Natural History of Birds, 

4. Elements of Herpetology and Ichthyology, the Natural History of 
Reptiles and Fishes, 

5. Elements of Conchology, the Natural History of Shells and JHol- 
lusca, 

6. Elements of Entomology, the Natural History of Insects, 

7. Elements of Botany, the Natural History of plants, 

8. Elements of Geology, the Natural History of the Earth's Structure. 



To Teachers, Principals and Controllers of Schools, Academies 

and Colleges. 

We take the liberty of calling your attention to a Series of Books on the subject of Natural His- 
tory, which, in the opinion of many of the most eminent men in our country, is second to no branch 
of knowledge now taught in schools. We ask your attention to these books, because we believe them 
to be superior to any works of the kind ever offered to the American public. They are small in size, 
extremely cheap, as accurate in scientific arrangement as the most voluminous works on similar sub- 
jects, and in every respect, such as parents and teachers would wish to place in the hands of their 
children. Very respectfully, your obedient servants, 

GRIGG & ELLIOT. 



These books have been introduced into the Public Schools of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and no doubt 
will, ere long, be introduced into all the public schools of our other States. 

We regard the introduction of these works into our public schools, among the highest compliments 
Ihey havB received ; for we feel sure that the gentlemen who constitute the committee for selecting 
books, possess too much discernment and general knowledge, to pass favourably upon works of infe- 
rior pretensions. The following gentlemen composed the Committee for selecting books for the use of 
Public Schools." * GEORGE M. WHARTON, Esq. 

THOMAS H. FORSYTH. Esq. 

GEORGE EMLEN, Jr., Esq. 

FRANCIS LYONS. Esq. 

JOHN C. SMITH, Esq. 

Philadelphia. .^s^~> wwww >~-~^^ 

In addition to numerous flattering notices of the American Press, the publishers have received up- 
wards of one hundred recommendations from the most prominent professors and distinguished teachers 
of our country, to the superior claims of these works, and urging their introduction as Class Books 
into all the Schools, Academies, &c, throughout the United States. 



These Books can be procured from Country Merchants and 
Booksellers generally throughout the United States. 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

TED STATES, 

FROM 

THEIR FIRST SETTLEMENT AS COLONIES, 

TO 

THE PERIOD OF THE SIXTH CENSUS, 
IN 1840, 

COMPRISING 

Every Important Political Event; with a Progressive View of the Aborigines ; Popu- 
lation, Agriculture, and Commerce; of the Arts, Sciences, and Literature; and 
Occasional Biographies of the most Remarkable Colonists, Writers and Philosophers, 
Warriors and Statesmen. 

ACCOMPANIED BY A BOOK OF QUESTIONS AND A KEY, 



BY WILLIAM GRIMSHA/VVj 

Author of a History of England, <£c, 




PHILADELPHIA: 

6RIGG|» ELLIOT & CO. 

NO. 9 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 

1847. 




.Gr*<*4 



Instructors of youth are respectfully informed, that stereotype edi- 
tions of the following histories, written by the author of this volume, 
expressly for the use of academies and schools in the United States, con- 
tinue to be sold, by all the booksellers, on the most liberal terms : — 

History of England, Life of Napoleon, 

History of France, History of South America, 

History of Greece, History of Rome. 

Each in one volume, accompanied by a book of Questions and a Key, 
on a plan which affords unusual facilities, both to the teacher and the 
student. 

O 3 The demand for Grimshaw's Histories, for the last twenty 
years, has been greater than was ever known for any other historical 
works, in any age, or in any language. 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress in the year 1847, by 
William Grimshaw, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



stereotyped by j. fagan. 
printed by t. k. and p. g. collins, philadelphia 



THE 



HISTORY 

OP 

UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Re/lections. Improvements in Astronomy, Navigation, and 
Geography, Voyages of Columbus. 

Although the period of man's residence in this sub- 
lunary world, is much curtailed, his amount of happiness 
is increased. Providence has more than compensated for the 
diminution of his years, by the extension of his knowledge. 
His mental faculties are no longer engrossed by the mere 
operations of his body. His mind now ranges with delight 
over the cultivated field of science. His acquaintance with 
distant regions is enlarged ; he goes abroad to indulge his 
curiosity, or makes an ideal excursion to amuse his imagi- 
nation. 

The exploring of the deeply hidden nature of the ele- 
ments, has not been more tardy than our advances in geo- 
graphy. It is true, that the Chaldeans and the Egyptians, 
at a time even beyond the most ancient records of authen- 
tic history, had marked the revolutions of the heavenly 
bodies, with a degree of industry and success, not less wor- 
thy of admiration, than difficult of comprehension, when we 
contemplate their scanty apparatus ; and, that during the 
refined ages, many centuries before the Christian era, the 
latter, or perhaps the Greeks, had discovered the form, and 
the dimensions, of this globe, with a geometrical exactness 
approaching nearly to the truth ; yet, their ideas concern- 
ing distant countries were extremely defective and per- 
plexed. On this subject, their theories were, in general 
absurd, and tended to restrain inquiry ; thus, strengthening 

I # . (5) 



6 



HISTORY OF 



the maxim, that conscious ignorance is less injurious than 
dogmatical error. 

About six centuries before Christ, Pythagoras of Samos 
became acquainted with the learning of Egypt, and dif- 
fused his observations throughout Greece and Italy. He 
taught, that the sun was the centre of the universe, that 
the earth was round, that people had antipodes, and that 
the moon reflected the rays of the sun ; a system deemed 
chimerical, until the philosophy and deep inquiries of the 
sixteenth century proved it to be incontestible and true. 
Philolaus, who flourished about a century after Pythagoras, 
proceeded a step further in astronomy. Embracing the 
same doctrine, he asserted the annual motion of the earth 
around the sun ; and, only a short time had elapsed, 
when its diurnal revolution on its own axis was promul- 
gated by Hicetas, a Syracusan. Nearly at the same time, 
Meton and Euctemon made improvements in the science 
at Athens ; and, subsequently, in various parts, Eudoxus 
and Calippus, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Archimedes, and 
Hipparchus ; the last of whom, about one hundred and forty 
years before our era, ascertained the latitudes and longi- 
tudes of more than one thousand of the fixed stars, and 
enriched astronomy with many other valuable discoveries. 
In our first century, Ptolemy, an Egyptian, formed a theory, 
w r hich, although erroneous, was followed by all nations 
for many ages. He composed, in the Greek language, a 
great work, called the Almagest, containing his own and 
the observations of his most illustrious predecessors. This 
record, saved from the destruction of the Alexandrine 
library, wmen burned by the Saracens in the seventh cen- 
tury, was translated into Arabic in the ninth, and (by the 
emperor Frederic,) into Latin, in the thirteenth ; and thus 
were the acquirements in astronomy happily preserved, and 
extensively diffused. 

From the latter period, until the discovery of America, 
the science was cherished by many distinguished philoso- 
phers, — Alphonso, king of Castile, Roger Bacon, an Eng- 
Ish monk, Purbach, and Muller. The last mentioned, a 
native of Koeningsberg, who died in 1476, invented several 
instruments useful in navigation ; amongst which, was an 
armillary astrolabe, resembling one formerly used by Hip- 
parchus and Ptolemy, at Alexandria; with which, and a 
good timepiece, he made many observations. 

Enabled by this preliminary sketch, to appreciate more 
fully the efforts of the ^different navigators in extending the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



7 



sphere of commercial enterprise, we shall review, with ad- 
ditional pleasure, their adventures, from the earliest ac- 
counts, to the accomplishment of that great undertaking, 
which gave, to what is denominated the old world, a know- 
ledge of the new. 

To the desire of riches, may chiefly be assigned ou 
enlarged acquaintance with the globe which we inhabit 
The ancients were not less eager than the moderns in th 
pursuit of wealth ; but their progress was unaided by the 
faithful and constant guide, which now directs the mariner, 
during the darkness of the night, or the gloomy horrors of 
the tempest. Though acquainted with the property of the 
magnet, by which it attracts iron, its more important and 
amazing quality, of pointing to the poles, had entirely es- 
caped their notice. Their navigation was therefore timid 
and uncertain. They seldom dared to sail beyond the sight 
of land ; but crept along the coast, exposed to every dan- 
ger, and retarded by innumerable obstructions. 

The Sidonians and Tyrians were more enterprising than 
any other people of antiquity. Astronomy, on its decline 
in Chaldea and Egypt, having passed into Phenicia, those 
people applied it to navigation ; steering by the north polar 
star : and, hence, became masters of the sea, and almost of 
the whole commerce of the world. Their ships frequented 
not only all the ports in the Mediterranean, but were the 
first that ventured beyond the strait of Gades, now called 
Gibraltar; or that visited the western coasts of Africa and 
Spain. At the same time, having obtained several com- 
modious harbours towards the bottom of the Arabian Gulf 
Ihey established, after the manner of the Egyptians, a regu. 
lar intercourse with Arabia and the continent of India, on 
the one hand, and with the coast of Africa, on the other , 
from which countries, they imported many valuable com 
modities, and, for a long while, engrossed that lucrative 
trade, without a rival. They landed their cargoes at Elath, 
the safest harbour in the Red. Sea, towards the north. 
Thence, they carried them, by land, to Rhinocolura on the 
Mediterranean, re-shipped them, and transported them to 
Tyre ; and the vast wealth which the Phenicians had ac 
quired by this monopoly, incited the Jews, under David 
and Solomon, to pursue a similar trade. Carthage, a colo- 
ny of Tyre, applied to naval affairs, with unremitting ar- 
dour, ingenuity, and success. It early rivalled and sur 
passed the parent state in opulence and power. Without 
contending with the mother country, for the trade of the 



8 HISTORY OF 



east, the Carthaginians directed their attention towards the 
west and north ; and, following the course already opened, 
passed the strait of Gades, visited not only all the coasts 
of Spain and Gaul, but reached the more distant shores of 
Britain. Stimulated by the extent of these discoveries, they 
carried their researches to the south. Stretching along 
the western coast of Africa, they sailed almost to the tropic 
of Cancer; planted several colonies, in order to civilize the 
natives and accustom them to commerce, and discovered 
the Fortunate Islands, now known by the name of the Ca- 
naries ; the utmost boundary of ancient navigation in the 
western ocean. 

Curiosity, as well as commercial avidity, induced them 
to continue their researches. To those motives, were ow- 
ing the famous voyages of Hanno and Himilco. Their 
fleets were equipped by authority of the senate, and at the 
public expense. Proceeding towards the south, Hanno ad- 
vanced much nearer to the equinoctial line, than any former 
navigator ; and Himilco explored the western coasts of 
Europe. Of the same nature, was the extraordinary voy- 
age of the Phenicians around Africa. A Phenician fleet, 
prepared by Necho, king of Egypt, sailed, we are told, 
about six hundred years before the Christian era, from a 
port in the Red Sea, passed the southern promontory of 
Africa, (now called the Cape of Good Hope,) and, after a 
voyage of three years, arrived by the strait of Gades, at the 
Nile. Unfortunately, the particulars of those navigations 
were not communicated to the rest of mankind. All au- 
thentic memorials respecting the great naval skill of the 
Phenicians and Carthaginians, seem, in a great measure, 
to have perished, when the maritime power of the former 
was annihilated by Alexander, and the empire of the latter 
was overturned by the Roman arms. 

The states of Greece pursued scarcely any commerce 
beyond the confines of the Mediterranean. Their ignorance 
of geography is almost incredible to us. But their know- 
ledge was much enlarged by Alexander's expedition to the 
3ast. Nor were the Romans less remarkable for their in- 
attention to that science. In the history of the Roman 
empire, hardly one event occurs, evincing a regard to geo- 
graphical inquiry or navigation, further than it was con- 
nected \yith the desire of conquest. Indeed, there prevail- 
ed, amongst the ancients, an opinion, which conveys a 
striking idea of the small progress made by them in the 



4 



THE UNITED STATES. 9 

knowledge of the habitable globe. They supposed, that 
the earth was divided into five regions ; which they distin- 
guished by the name of zones. Two of these, one at the 
north, the other at the south pole, they termed frigid , 
believing, that the extreme cold which reigned perpetually 
in both, was destructive to animal life. Another, which 
was seated under the line, and extended on *each side to- 
wards the tropics, they called the torrid zone ; imagining 
it to be so burned up with unremitting heat, as to be equal- 
ly destitute of inhabitants. To the other two regions, they 
gave the appellation of temperate ; and taught that these, 
being the only situations in which life could possibly sub- 
sist, were assigned to man for his habitation. Wild, as 
seems this opinion at the present day, it was adopted, as a 
system, by the most enlightened philosophers, and the most 
accurate historians, of Greece and Rome. Promulgated 
by so respectable authority, that extravagant theory served 
to render their ignorance perpetual ; as it represented all 
attempts to open a communication with distant regions of 
the earth, impracticable and hopeless. Even the small de- 
gree of accurate geographical knowledge, which they had 
occasionally obtained, was almost entirely lost, on the fail of 
the Roman empire. The various nations of the north, who, 
in the fifth century, settled in the different provinces, were 
unacquainted with regular government or laws ; strangers to 
letters, destitute of arts, ignorant of their use, unambitious 
of their acquirement. No intercourse existed even amongst 
themselves. Constantinople, however, was so fortunate 
as to escape their destructive rage. There, the ancient 
arts and discoveries were preserved, and commerce con- 
tinued to flourish, when almost extinct in every other part 
of Europe. 

At length, the rude tribes in Italy having acquired some 
idea of regular government, and some relish for the modes 
of civil life, Europe gradually recovered from its degrada- 
tion. The Italian merchants, notwithstanding the violent 
antipathy, which, as Christians, they possessed against the 
followers of Mahomet, repaired to Alexandria, and esta- 
blished with that port a lucrative trade. The commercial 
spirit of Italy became active and enterprising. Venice, 
Genoa, and Pisa, rose from inconsiderable towns, to be 
Wealthy and populous. Their naval power increased ; they 
visited the sea-ports of Spain, France, the Low Countries 
and England ; and infused a taste for the alluring produc- 
tions of the East. 



10 



HISTORY OF 



The crusades served greatly to hasten the mercantile 
progress of the Italians. The martial inclination of the 
Europeans, impelled by religious zeal, and inflamed by su- 
perstition, having prompted them to attempt the deliver- 

10°6 ance °f the Holy Land from the dominion of the In- 
fidels, vast armies, composed of all the nations in 
Europe, marched upon this wild enterprise, towards Asia. 
The Italian sea-ports furnished the necessary shipping and 
military stores ; for which, immense sums were received. 
Venice, in particular, advanced in commerce, power, and 
riches. Nor did their employers make those expensive and 
disastrous voyages without future benefit. They became 
familiar with distant regions, which, before, they knew onl) 
by name, or by the reports of credulous pilgrims ; and as- 
certained the arts, manners, and productions, of nations 
more polished than themselves. 

That intercourse subsisted for nearly two hundred years ; 
during which period, many religious missionaries penetrated 
the East, far beyond the countries entered by the crusaders. 
After these, followed several illustrious travellers, incited 
either by the hope of riches, or a pure spirit of inquiry. 
Of the former passion, the most distinguished votary was 

1322 ^ arco P°^°3 a nobleman of Venice : of the latter, sir 
John Mandeville, of England ; who returned, after an 
absence of more than thirty years, and published an account 
of his observations. 

While this inclination towards research was gradually 
increasing, a discovery was made, the wonderful property 
of the magnet, which communicates to iron a tendency of 
pointing to the north, that had greater influence on naviga- 
tion, than all the efforts of preceding ages. The precise 
epoch of this discovery cannot be ascertained. It is gene- 
rally attributed to Gioia, a Neapolitan, and dated in the year 
1302: but the supposition appears erroneous. The earliest 
notice with which we are acquainted, is by a French writer, 
Guyot de Provins ; who, in a poem written about the year 
1180, plainly alludes to the magnetic needle being then in 
common use. The Historia Orientalis, of Vitriacus, who 
had made many voyages by sea, and published that work 
about forty years subsequent to the former ; the writings of 
Vicentius, at the same period, and many other authorities; 
coincide in establishing its previous introduction, and, con- 
sequently, in depriving the Neapolitan of any honour, fur- 
ther than for having increased its utility, by fixing it on a 



THE UNITED STATES. 



11 



pivot, and enclosing it in a box.* Seamen were now enabled 
to abandon their timid course along the shore, and fearlessly 
to launch into the wide bosom of the ocean. The first ap- 
pearance of increasing confidence, may be dated from the 
voyages of the Spaniards to the Canary islands. These, 
which, we have already mentioned, had been visited by th 
Carthaginians, were again discovered by that people : but 
the genius of naval enterprise was not at this period fully 
roused ; as navigation seems not to have advanced, then, 
beyond the limits which circumscribed it before the down 
fall of the Roman empire. 

The era at length arrived, when man was allowed to pass 
the boundary within which he had been so long confined. 
The next considerable effort was made by the seamen of 
Portugal. In 1420, they sailed to Madeira ; (to which, they 
were directed by its accidental discovery by an English- 
man ;) about forty years from that date, they discovered the 
Cape de Verd islands ; and soon afterwards, the Azores, 
situated in the Atlantic, nine hundred miles from any con- 
tinent. When prosecuting their researches along the shores 
1471 °^ -^ r * ca > tne y ventured to cross the equinoctial 
line ; equally pleased and astonished, on finding that 
region not only habitable, but populous and fertile. This 
occurred in the reign of Alphonso. His son, John the se- 
cond, possessed talents, capable both of forming great de- 
signs and carrying them into execution. Patronised and 
aided by this indefatigable monarch, the examination and 
colonizing of the African continent became ardent and 
unremitting. As they advanced towards the south, the 
Portuguese found, that, instead of extending, according 
to the doctrine of Ptolemy, it appeared to contract, its 
breadth, towards the east. This unexpected discovery was 
not unprofitably made. It induced them to credit the an- 
cient Phenician voyages around Africa, which had long 
been deemed fabulous ; and led them to conceive hopes, 
that, by following the same track, they might arrive at the 
East Indies, and engross, for a while, a traffic, which had 



* " Valde necessarius est acus navigantibus mari," says VUriaeus : — 
the needle is very necessary to seamen. " Cum enim," observes Vicen- 
tius, " vias suas ad portum dirigere nesciunt, caeumen acus ad adamantem 
lapidem fricatum, per transversum in festuea parva infigunt, et vasi plene 
aquae immittunt :" — for, when they (the navigators,) know not how to 
find their way into a harbour, they fix the point of a needle, rubbed upon 
a hard stone, crosswise in a piece of wood, and place it in a small vesse' 
full of water. 



22 



HISTORY OF 



always been so eagerly desired. The attainment of this 
object was entrusted to Bartholomew Diaz ; an experienced 
officer, distinguished alike for his sagacity, fortitude, and 
perseverance. After advancing a thousand miles farther 
than any of his predecessors, exposed to violent tempests, 
mutinies, and famine, he at last beheld that lofty 
promontory which terminates Africa on the south. 
But, to behold it, was all that he could accomplish. The 
v iolence of the winds, the shattered condition of his ships 
and turbulent spirit of his men, compelled him to return. 

Diaz had called that promontory the Stormy Cape ; but 
the king, now entertaining a sanguine expectation of having 
found the long desired route to India, gave it a more ap- 
propriate name, The Cape of Good Hope. 

The vast length of this voyage, with the furious storms- 
which Diaz had encountered, so alarmed and intimidated 
the Portuguese, that some time was requisite to prepare 
their minds for the prosecution of their great design. In 
the interval, an event occurred, not less extraordinary than 
unexpected, unparalleled in the annals of naval enterprise — 
the discovery of a new continent, situated in the west. 

The honour of accomplishing an exploit so sublime, was 
gained by Christopher Columbus. This great man, a na- 
tive of Genoa, descended from a respectable family, was 
well qualified, by nature and education, to become distin- 
guished on the ocean. Ardently inclined towards that ele- 
ment, he went to sea at the age of fourteen; and, in a few 
years, visited the coast of Iceland, (then frequented by the 
English on account of its fishery,) and advanced several 
degrees within the polar circle. After a variety of adven- 
tures, serving more to enlarge his knowledge, than to in- 
crease his fortune, he went to Lisbon ; a city in which 
there lived many of his countrymen, and w T here, having 
married a Portuguese lady, he fixed his residence. This 
alliance did not lessen his early attachment to the sea. It 
fortunately contributed to enlarge his naval information, 
and excite a desire of still further extending it. His wife 
was a daughter of Perestrello ; one of the captains employ- 
ed by the Portuguese in their former navigations, and who 
had first carried them to Madeira. Columbus obtained pos- 
session of his journals ; the study of which inflamed his fa- 
vourite passion, and rendered irresistible his impatience to 
visit the several countries which Perestrello had described. 
He accordingly made a voyage to Madeira ; and continued, 
diring many years, to trade with the Canaries, the Azores, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



13 



the coast of Guinea, and all the other places discovered oy 
the Portuguese on the continent of Africa. 

At that period, the great object of the Portuguese, as al- 
ready narrated, was to find a passage to the East Indies. 
But they searched for it only by steering towards the south ; 
in hopes of accomplishing their wishes by turning to the 
east, when they had reached the southern extremity of Af- 
rica ; a course of so great extent, that a voyage from Eu- 
rope to India must have appeared to them equally arduous 
and uncertain. Stimulated by this reflection, the active 
mind of Columbus, after attentively comparing the obser- 
vations of modern pilots with the conjectures of the an- 
cients, at last concluded, that, by sailing directly to the 
west, across the Atlantic Ocean, new countries, which it 
was likely formed a part of the great continent of Asia, 
must infallibly be discovered. The spherical figure of the 
earth was known ; its magnitude ascertained with some de- 
gree of accuracy : and sir John Mandeville had already, 
from astronomical demonstration, asserted, that it might 
be circumnavigated. It was evident, that the continents 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, formed but a small portion of 
the terraqueous globe. It seemed rational, that the vast, 
unexplored space, was not entirely covered by water, but 
was occupied in some measure, by countries fit for the re- 
sidence of man. These deductions did not rest merely on 
conjecture. Although the offspring of scientific theory , 
they were supported by recent observations. Timber, ar- 
tificially carved, driven by a westerly wind, was seen float- 
ing at an unusual distance in the ocean : to the west of the 
Madeira isles, there had been found another piece, fashion- 
ed in the same manner, brought by the same wind ; and 
canes, of enormous size, resembling those described by 
Ptolemy, as peculiar to the Indies. Trees were frequently 
driven upon the Azores ; and, at one time, the dead bodies 
of two men, with singular features, not corresponding with 
the inhabitants of Europe, Africa, or Asia. 

Fully satisfied with the truth of his system, Columbus 
was impatient to bring it to the test of experiment. The 
first step towards this, was to secure the patronage of some 
considerable power. As long absence had not lessened his 
affection for his native country, he wished that Genoa should 
reap the fruits of his ingenuity and labour ; and, according- 
ly, laid his scheme before the senate. But he had resided 
so long abroad, that his countrymen were unacquainted with 
his character ; and, not being able to form any just idea of 
2 



14 



HISTORY OF 



the principles upon which he founded his hopes of success 
they rejected his proposals, as the dream of a chimerical 
projector. 

Columbus had now performed a natural duty ; a conduct, 
which, though it does not form the grandest, is certainly 
one of the most amiable features in his history ; and must 
be admired, while there is a mind clear enough to discern, 
or a heart sufficiently warm to conceive, an act of gene- 
rosity. 

He was not discouraged by this repulse. Instead of re 
linquishing his undertaking, he pursued it with increasing 
ardour. He made his next overture to the king of Portu- 
gal ; in whose dominions, he had long resided ; and whom 
he considered, on that account, as having the second claim 
to his services. John listened to his proposals, and appoint- 
ed three eminent cosmographers to examine the merits of 
his plan. But these men, after drawing from Columbus all 
the information that treachery could devise, or their capa- 
cities understand, basely conspired to rob the ingenious 
seaman of his expected glory ; and the king adopted their 
perfidious counsel. The pilot, however, chosen to execute 
the fraud, was not less deficient in courage, than were his 
employers in dignity and justice. He returned to Lisbon, 
execrating the project as extravagant and dangerous. 

Disgusted by this transaction, Columbus resolved to break 
off all intercourse with a nation, capable of so flagrant 
treachery. He instantly went to Spain, that he might lay 
his plan before Ferdinand and Isabella. But, he wisely in- 
creased the chances of success, by sending his brother Bar- 
tholomew into England, to negotiate with Henry the seventh ; 
who was reported to be one of the most sagacious and opu- 
lent princes of the age. 

Though Spain was then engaged in a serious contest with 
Granada, the last of the Moorish kingdoms in that country, 
yet, Ferdinand and his queen paid so much regard to Co- 
lumbus, as to submit the consideration of his plan to a con- 
fidential minister. To enumerate all the objections offered 
to his .scheme, or describe, in appropriate language, the 
firmness with which the philosophic stranger combated his 
successive disappointments, would neither be conformable 
with our design, nor within the compass of our ability. 
Some asserted, that he would find the ocean of infinite ex- 
tent ; others, that, if he persisted in steering to the west, 
beyond a certain point, the convex figure of the earth would 
prevent his return ; and, that it was absurd to attempt open- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



15 



ing a communication between the two opposite hemi- 
spheres, which nature had for ever disjoined. 

But the total expulsion of the Moors produced a happy 
change in the disposition of the Spanish court, and excited, 
still further, the vigilant and generous patrons of Colum- 
bus, — Quintanella, and Santangel ; who took advantage of 
this prosperous situation of affairs, to press, once more, the 
solicitations of their friend. Their effort was successful. 
Though Ferdinand was still restrained by his characteristic 
caution and reserve, Isabella, alive to the glory which must 
accrue from the accomplishment of so grand an enterprise ; 
and, if historians be correct, anxious to spread the know- 
ledge of the Christian religion ; declared her resolution of 
employing Columbus ; and, regretting the low state of her 
finances, offered to pledge her jewels, in order to complete 
the preparations for the voyage. A measure so humilia- 
ting to a feeling mind, was, however, fortunately prevented. 
Transported with gratitude and admiration, Santangel kissed 
Isabella's hand, and engaged to advance, immediately, the 
necessary sum. 
1492 ^ n ^ e °^ ^P r ^> more than seven years from 
the date of his first application, an agreement with 
Columbus was concluded. The ships, of which he was to 
have the command, were fitted out at Palos ; a small town 
in the province of Andalusia. But the armament was not 
suitable, either to the rank of the nation by which it was 
equipped, or to the important service for which it was in- 
tended. It consisted only of three vessels. The largest, 
of inconsiderable burthen, called the Santa Maria, was com- 
manded by Columbus, as admiral ; the second, named the 
Pinta, not superior in size to a large boat, by Martin Pin- 
zon ; the third, of similar dimensions, called the Nigna, 
by Vincent Pinzon, a brother of the latter. The whole 
were victualled for twelve months, and provided with ninety 
men. 

On the 3d of August, Columbus set sail. He steered 
directly for the Canary islands ; and, having refitted his 
crazy vessels, departed from Gomera, on the 6th day of 
September. Hojding his course due west, he left the usual 
track of navigation, and stretched boldly into seas unfre- 
quented and unknown. His sailors, alarmed at the dis- 
tance which they had proceeded without finding the ex 
pec ted land, began to mutiny, threatened to throw him 
overboard, and placed him in a situation, in which any other 
man would have yielded to their entreaties to return. Bu* 



16 



HISTORY OF 



he still maintained his accustomed serenity and resolution 
Fertile in expedients, possessing a thorough knowledge of 
mankind, an insinuating address, and the talent of govern- 
ing the minds of others, he promised solemnly to his men, 
that, provided they would obey his commands for three days 
longer, and that, in the meantime, land were not discovered, 
he would comply with their request. 

Columbus did not hazard much, by confining himself to 
a period so short. For some days before, the sounding line 
had reached the bottom, and brought up soil which indica- 
ted land to be at no great distance. The flocks of birds 
increased, and contained many of a description supposed 
not to fly far from shore. A cane was observed, that seem- 
ed to have been recently cut ; and a branch of a tree, with 
fresh berries. The clouds around the sun assumed a new 
appearance ; the air was more mild, and, during the night, 
the wind became unequal and variable. Each succeeding 
hour confirmed Columbus in his opinion of being near land. 
On the evening of the 11th of October, he ordered the sails 
to be furled, the ships to lie to, and a strict watch to be 
kept, to guard against the danger of running ashore in the 
night ; an interval of suspense and expectation, during 
which all remained on deck, intently gazing towards that 
quarter where they hoped to discover the interesting object 
of their wishes. 

The period at length arrived. Columbus observed a 
light, which seemed to be carried from place to place ; and, 
a little after midnight, there was heard from the Pinta the 
joyful cry of Land ! 

When morning dawned, an island was seen, about two 
leagues to the north, presenting the aspect of a delightful 
country. All the boats were immediately manned and 
armed. The Spaniards rowed towards the shore, with their 
colours displayed, with martial music, and all the dazzling 
insignia of military pomp. As they approached the beach, 
they saw it covered with a multitude of people, whose atti- 
tudes and gestures expressed wonder and amazement. 
Columbus was the first who set foot on this new world 
which he had discovered. His men followed ; and all 
kneeling, kissed the ground which they had long desired, 
but expected never to behold : he then erected a crucifix 3 
returned thanks to God, and, with the usual formalities, took 
possession of the country. 

To this island, called by the natives Guanahani, . Co- 
lumbus gave the name of St. Salvador. It is one of that 



THE UNITED STATES. 



large cluster, called the Lucaya or Bahama isles ; situated 
above three thousand miles to the west, but only four de- 
grees to the south, of Gomera ; so little had he deviated 
from his intended course. 

After discovering several other islands, amongst which 
were Cuba and Hayti, (the latter named by Columbus, 
Hispaniola,) the shattered condition of his vessels, and the 
general eagerness, of his seamen to return to their native 
country, constrained him to make preparations for his de- 
parture. He did not, however, neglect using every pre- 
caution to secure the benefit of a first discovery. With 
the consent of the cazique or sovereign of the district, he 
erected a fort in Hispaniola : in which, he left a party of 
his men ; and, on the 4th of January, sailed for Europe ; 
1493 wnere ne an# ived, after experiencing dangers and 
fatigues which required all his skill and fortitude to 
surmount. 

Various conjectures were formed respecting these newly 
discovered countries. Columbus adhered to his original 
opinion, that they were part of those vast regions of Asia, 
comprehended under the general name of India. From 
their productions, this idea seemed correct. Gold was 
known to abound in India ; a metal of which he had obtain- 
ed samples so promising, as led him to believe* that rich 
mines of it would be found. Cotton, another production of 
the Indies, was common there. The pimento of the islands 
he imagined was a species of the India pepper. The birds 
brought home by him were adorned with the brilliant plu- 
mage which distinguishes those of India : the alligator of the 
one, seemed to be the crocodile of the other. That opinion 
of Columbus, the Spaniards and the other nations of Europe 
have adopted. The name of Indies was given to those islands 
by Ferdinand and Isabella, in a ratification of the former 
agreement with the illustrious discoverer ; and, even after the 
error which gave rise to that opinion was detected, the 
name of West Indies has remained, and the aborigines are 
called Indians. 

1498 ^ n ^ s tn *rd v °y a g"e, Columbus reached the conti- 
nent, and landed in several places on the coast of 
those provinces now known by the name of Paria and Cu- 
mana. But he was deprived of the honour of associating 
his name with this vast portion of the earth. Amongst the 
officers, who, in the following year, accompanied Ojeda, to 
explore still farther these new regions, was Amerigo Ves 

pucci, a gentleman of Florence ; who, as he was an expert- 
2* 



13 



HISTORY OF 



enced seaman, acquired so great authority amongst his 
companions, that they willingly yielded to him the super- 
intendence of the voyage. The crafty Florentine made an 
extraordinary use of his situation. Soon after his return 
to Spain, he transmitted an account of his adventures to 
one of his own countrymen ; so ingeniously framed, as to 
make it appear that he had the glory of first discovering 
the continent of the new world. His narrative was drawn 
not only with art, but with elegance. It contained an 
amusing history of his voyage, and judicious observations 
on the natural productions, the inhabitants, and customs, Oi 
the places which he had visited. His description was the 
first given to the public. It circulated rapidly, and was 
read with admiration. The country, of which Amerigo 
was supposed to be the discoverer, gradually received his 
name, or a modification of it ; an error, which the injustice 
of mankind has continued. 

In the summary view, which, previous to our entering 
on the voyages of Columbus, was given, of the gradual pro- 
gress of discovery in the eastern hemisphere, we last allud- 
ed to the advance of Diaz within sight oi the great south- 
ern cape of Africa. Rather stimulated than depressed by 
the amazing issue of the patronage which they had denied 
Columbus, the Portuguese attentively pursued their fa- 
vourite object. Their endeavours were successful. On 
the 20th of November, in the year 1497, Vasco de Gama, 
employed by the king of Portugal, " doubled" that cele- 
brated promontory, and, in the month of May following, 
arrived at Calicut, on the coast of Malabar. 

Twenty-three years after that great event, Magellan, a' 
native of Portugal, in the service of Spain, penetrated into 
the Pacific ocean, by the strait which bears his name, situ- 
ated at the southern extremity of the American continent ; 
thus, opening a new route to the East Indies, and developing 
a vast region of water, interspersed with beautiful and fer- 
tile islands. 

It seems owing to accident, that England had not gained 
the renown which accrued to Spain, the fortunate em- 
ployer of the persevering Genoese. In his voyage thither, 
Bartholomew Columbus was captured by pirates ; who, 
having entirely robbed him, detained him a prisoner for 
many years. When, at length, he arrived in London, his 
indigence was so great, that he was obliged to employ 
himself, during a considerable time, in drawing and selling 
maps, as a means of raising money sufficient to purchase a 



THE UNITED STATES. 



19 



decent dress, in which to appear at court. He was there 
treated with merited respect. Notwithstanding the exces- 
sive caution of Henry the seventh, he received the over- 
tures of Columbus with more attention than any monarch 
to whom they had been before presented, and invited him 
to England. But it was then too late. The achievement 
was already accomplished. Bartholomew, in his return, 
was informed, at Paris, of the issue of his brother's voyage ; 
an event not less exhilarating than unexpected. 



CHAPTER II. 

Newfoundland discovered by Cabot, Abortive attempts to 
settle Roanoke, by Sir Walter Raleigh, 

The English were the second people that ventured to 
the new world, and the first that discovered the continent 
of America. Two years had not elapsed, after the consum- 
mation of the great navigator's hopes, when Giovanni Ga- 
boto, (or Cabot,) a Venetian who had settled in Bristol, and 
his three sons, were commissioned, by Henry the seventh, 
to sail in quest of unknown countries, and endeavour te 
reach India by a western course ; agreeably to the system 
of Columbus, which the former had adopted. Accordingly, 
the father and his second son, Sebastian, were despatched 
from that city, the place of the latter's nativity, on board a 
ship furnished by the king, accompanied by four small 
barks provided by the merchants. Sebastian, for it was he 
who had the direction of the voyage, conjectured, that by 
steering farther to the north, he might reach India, by a 
shorter course than that chosen by Columbus. On the 
24th of June, 1497, he discovered a large island, to which 
he gave the name of Prima Vista, or first seen ; now called 
Newfoundland. He then changed his course ; steering to 
the north : but, finding that the land continued to oppose 
him in that direction, and that there was no appearance of 
a passage, he tacked about, and ran as far as Florida ; the 
island of Cuba, as he relates, being on his left. Here, his 
provisions failing, he resolved to return to England ; having 
on board three natives, who accompanied him from New 
foundland. 

The commercial progress of the English did not relax, 
during the succeeding reigns of Henry the eighth and Ed- 



20 



HISTORY OF 



ward the sixth. In the former reign, many adventures 
were made, along the southern portion of America ; in the 
latter, the fisheries on the banks of, Newfoundland became 
an eager object of attention. But, after the accession of 
Mary, their enterprises were directed towards another quar- 
ter. That she might* allay the jealousy of the Spanish 
monarch, to wLom she was espoused, the queen devoted all 
her patronage to an intercourse opened in the preceding 
reign with Russia. 

Ou the accession of Elizabeth, a period commenced, 
highly auspicious to mercantile extension. The domestic 
tranquillity ; the peace with foreign nations, which subsisted 
more than twenty years after she was seated on the throne ; 
her economy ; all, were favourable to that rising spirit. 
The opening of a direct intercourse with India, by sea, was 
again attempted : but a route was marked out, different 
from any that was before pursued. As every attempt to 
accomplish this by the west, and the north-east, had proved 
abortive, a scheme w T as formed, to hold an opposite course, 
by the north-west ; the conduct of which was entrusted to 
Alartin Frobisher. In three successive voyages, that en- 
1576-'7-'8 ter P r ^ sm o officer examined the coast of La- 
~~ ~" brador ; but without discovering any rational 
appearance of a passage. The disappointment, however, 
was in some measure compensated by sir Francis Drake ; 
who accomplished, about this time, his celebrated voyage 
round the globe ; an exploit, which, in conjunction with 
their other marine achievements, impressed the English 
with a just confidence in their own abilities and courage. 
They had displayed their flag in every region to which na- 
vigation then extended ; and were not excelled in naval ex- 
ploits by any nation of the age. 

A more interesting period of our history now approaches. 
The British at length began to form plans of settling colo- 
nies in those countries, which, hitherto, they had only visit- 
ed. The projectors and patrons of these were chiefly men 
of rank and influence. Amongst the number, sir Hum- 
phrey Gilbert, of Devonshire, an officer distinguished for 
his military talents, and his attention to naval science, ob- 
tained a patent from the queen, investing him with the 
necessary powers. But, two expeditions, both of which he 
conducted in person, were unfortunate. The last voyage 
15S0 was aw f u ^v disastrous: w^hen returning to England, 
without having performed any thing more important 
than the empty ceremony of taking possession of Newfound- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



21 



land, the frigate in which he sailed was lost at sea, and all 
on board found a watery grave. 

But that misfortune did not discourage his relative, sir 
Walter Raleigh. Adopting all the ideas of his brother-in- 
law, he applied to the queen, in whose favour he stood high, 
at that time, and procured a patent, with similar jurisdic- 
tion and prerogatives. Raleigh despatched two small ves- 
1584 se ' un( ^ er * ne command of Philip Amadas and Ar- 
thur Barlow. They sailed on the 27th of April, and 
reached the coast now called North Carolina on the 4th of 
July ; making their passage in sixty-seven days : which was 
not a long voyage, when we consider their course, by the 
Canary and West India islands, and their having spent 
many days, at those places, in trading and recruiting their 
provisions. They touched first at an island, which they 
call Wocokon, (probably Ocacoke ;) then, at Roanoke, 
near the entrance of Albemarle Sound ; and, after spend- 
ing a few weeks in trafficking with the natives, and visiting 
the adjacent continent, returned to England. Amadas and 
Barlow gave so splendid a description of the country ; its 
beauty, fertility, mildness of climate, and serenity of at- 
mosphere ; that Elizabeth gave it the name of Virginia, as 
a memorial that this happy discovery was made under a 
maiden queen. 

The great profusion of grapes attracted their particular 
notice. So plentiful were they along the shore, that the 
surge of the sea overflowed them ; and, in all places, they 
observed so many, on the sand in the plains, and on the 
verdant ground upon the hills ; on every little shrub, and 
climbing towards the tops of the lofty cedars ; that, in the 
whole world, they declare, a similar abundance had not been 
found. When they discharged their arms, so large a flock 
of cranes arose around them, and with so loud a cry, re- 
doubled by many echoes, that the noise equalled the com- 
bined shouting of an army. They had remained at the 
island two days, before they saw any of the natives. On the 
third day, they beheld a small boat rowing towards them, 
containing three men ; one of whom was taken on board, and 
presented with some clothes, meat, and wine ,* with which, 
he was highly pleased, ^The pleasure he received was not 
unrecompensed. He returned to his little boat, and, after 
fishing for about half an hour, and lading it as deeply as it 
would allow, he came to a point of the land ; then, dividing 
his fish into two parts, assigned one as the portion of the 
ship, the other as the share of the pinnace; and, having thus 



22 



HISTORY OF 



repaid his debt, he departed. The following day, there ap- 
peared several other boats. In one of these, was Granga- 
nimeo, brother of the king Wingina ; accompanied by forty 
or fifty men ; " very handsome and goodly people, and, in 
their behaviour," it is said, " as mannerly and civil as any 
in Europe." In the present age, this comparison may seem, 
at the first view, extravagant and unjust : but, if we consider 
the state of civilized society more than two centuries ago, 
and reflect, that while these have been constantly advancing 
the other, from nearly the same cause, have been declining, 
in their acquirement of what is supposed to be the standard 
of refinement, we shall no longer doubt its general correct- 
ness. 

j£g- Encouraged by this pleasing report, Raleigh fit- 
ted out a squadron of seven small vessels, with one 
hundred and eighty adventurers : which sailed from Ply- 
mouth, under the command of sir Richard Greenville. 
This colony, he left on the island of Roanoke, under the 
care of captain Lane, assisted by some men of eminence ; 
amongst whom, was Hariot, a distinguished mathematician. 
The latter individuals faithfully discharged their duty, in 
obtaining a more ample knowledge of the country ; having 
carried their researches farther than could have been ex- 
pected, with so inconsiderable aid, and from a situation so 
disadvantageous. But the same praise is not due to Lane, 
and the majority of his subordinate companions. They 
seemed to think nothing worthy their attention, except 
gold and silver. Amused by the Indians, with extraordi- 
nary tales, concerning pearl fisheries and rich mines of 
those precious metals, they neglected the cultivation of the 
soil ; and, being disappointed in attaining treasures, which 
were only the invention of a people, now as anxious to de- 
stroy, as they were before to assist, these dangerous intru- 
ders, they were assailed by a two-fold calamity, hostility 
and famine. Reduced to extreme distress, they were pre- 
paring to disperse in quest of food, when sir Francis Drake, 
returning from the West Indies, appeared with his fleet, 
and offered them assistance : but his generous intention 
was frustrated by a storm. A small vessel, with provisions 
destined for their service, was dashed to pieces ; and, as he 
could not supply them, a second time, with adequate relief, 
at their unanimous request, he carried them home to Eng- 
land. Thus ended that ill -conducted experiment, after a 
trial of nine months. 

Only a few days had expired, when a small bark, with some 



THE UNITED STATES. 



23 



stores, despatched by Raleigh, arrived at the place where 
those men had been settled ; but, on finding it deserted, 
she returned : and scarcely was that vessel gone, before 
Greenville appeared with further aid. . He searched for the 
colony ; but, receiving no information of its fate, he left fif- 
teen of his crew, to retain possession of the island, and 
departed. 

Early in the following year, the proprietors despatched 
three vessels, under the command of captain White, with 
one hundred and fifty men. In the month of July, they 
arrived at Roanoke, and endeavoured to find the small par- 
ty left there by sir Richard Greenville ; but, of their fate, 
they collected no satisfactory account. It is most proba- 
ble, that their misconduct had caused their dispersion ; 
perhaps their death : the bones of one person were seen ; 
the fort which Lane had erected was demolished ; but their 
dwellings remained unhurt. Both were overgrown with 
melons. Some deer had entered within the deserted walls, 
and were feeding on the fruit, which perhaps their late in- 
habitants had planted ; a melancholy scene. 

In about a month after the arrival of captain White, his 
daughter, the wife of Ananias Dare, one of the assistants, 
gave birth to a female child, in Roanoke ; which, being the 
first born in the colony, was named Virginia. 

But misfortune pursued even this settlement. Insubordi- 
nation, anarchy, distress, were every day increasing. At 
the desire, therefore, of the inhabitants, the governor re- 
turned to England, for supplies ; and, at his request, a fleet, 
under the command of Greenville, was prepared at Biddi- 
ford: but, on account of the Spanish Armada, which then 
threatened the parent country with subjection, this officer, 
whose talents were now required in a more important ser- 
vice, was ordered not to sail. White, however, obtained 
two small pinnaces, the Brave and the Roe ; the former of 
thirty, the latter of only twenty-five tons, burthen ; with 
which, he departed for America. The object of the voyage 
was, however, soon neglected ; the distressed situation of 
the colony, forgotten. Piracy engrossed the whole atten- 
tion of the seamen. Having plundered every vessel they 
could overtake, British, Scotch, or foreign ; chased and 
beaten off an armed vessel of two hundred tons, with a de- 
gree of courage worthy of a better cause, one of. the pin- 
naces was attacked by two large French privateers ; when, 
after a desperate battle, in which many men on both sidea 
were killed, she and her consort were themselves plundered, 



24 



HISTORY OF 



and forced to return to England ! " Thus," says the narra- 
tor of these adventures, " God justly punished the former 
thievery of our evil-disposed mariners." 

This atrocious desertion of their duty proved fatal to the 
colony. Receiving no supply, its inhabitants perished 
miserably by famine, or by the hands of their surrounding 
enemies. 



CHAPTER III. 

Exertions of Richard Hakluyt. Establishment at James 
Town, in Virginia. Life and adventures of captain 
Smith. Marriage of captain Rolfe with Pocahontas. 
Productions of Virginia ; agriculture, mode of livings 
religion, and appearance, of the Indians. 

During the remainder of Elizabeth's reign, no further 
efforts were made to establish a colony in Virginia. Al- 
lured by new objects, and always giving a preference to the 
most arduous and splendid, Raleigh engaged in under- 
takings, much beyond his power of accomplishing ; and, be- 
coming cold to this unprofitable scheme, assigned his in- 
terest in that country, which he had never visited, to sir 
1596 ^ nomas Smith and a company of merchants in Lon- 
don. But they were satisfied by a petty traffic with 
the natives, and made no attempt to take possession of the 
soil. 

A few years previous to this, Richard Hakluyt, preben- 
dary of Westminster, in order to stimulate his countrymen 
to naval enterprise, published a valuable collection of voy- 
ages and discoveries made by Englishmen, and translated 
some of the best accounts of the voyages of the Spaniards 
and Portuguese to the East and West Indies. The mo- 
tives of this publication are singular and interesting. They 
display an affectionate regard for the honour and welfare of 
his native land. By a long continued attention to the duties 
of lecturing on geography, and an ardent curiosity in all 
matters relating to distant countries, Hakluyt had grown 
familiar with the principal sea-captains, and most eminent 
merchants of the age ; by which means, his knowledge be- 
came extensive and correct. Appointed to accompany the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



25 



queen's ambassador to the court of Paris, during the five 
years he remained in that service, his patriotic feelings 
were daily wounded by the reproaches thrown out, in con- 
versation and in books, against the sluggish indifference of 
nis countrymen, and by the extravagant praises lavished upon 
other nations, for their discoveries and naval enterprise ; a 
neglect the more remarkable, on the part of England, in so 
long and happy a time of peace. On his return, he imme- 
diately commenced his voluminous and laborious undertak- 
ing. In the preface of this work, which is dedicated to sir 
Francis Walsingham, he strongly evinces the ardency of his 
feelings, and presents an interesting summary of the foreign 
relations of his country. " Which of the kings of England, 
before her majesty," he demands, " displayed their banners 
in the Caspian Sea? Which of them have ever traded with 
the emperor of Persia, and obtained for her merchants nu- 
merous and important privileges ? Who, at any time before, 
beheld an English regiment in the stately porch of the 
Grand Signior at Constantinople? Who ever found Eng- 
lish consuls and commercial agents at Tripolis in Syria ; at 
Aleppo, at Babylon, at Balsara : and, still more, who, before 
this period, ever heard of Englishmen at Goa : what English 
ships did heretofore anchor in the great river Plate, pass and 
repass the strait of Magellan, range along the coast of Chili, 
Peru, and all the western side of New Spain, farther indeed, 
than the vessels of any other nation had ever ventured; 
traverse the immense surface of the South Sea, land upon 
the Luzones, in despite of the enemy ; enter into alliance, 
amity, and traffic, with the princes of the Moluccas and the 
isle of Java; double the famous Cape of Good Hope, arrive 
at the isle of St. Helena, and, last of all, return home richly 
laden with the commodities of China ?" 

By the zealous endeavours of a person, respected equally 
by traders and men of rank, numbers of both orders formed 
an association, again to establish colonies in America ; and 
petitioned James the first, to sanction the execution of their 
plans. The period was highly favourable to their wishes. 
James was scarcely seated on the throne, when he conclud 
ed, by an amicable treaty, the tedious war which had been 
carried on with Spain ; and now readily granted their re- 
quest. He divided, into two districts, of nearly equal ex- 
tent, that portion of North America which stretches from 
the 34th to the 45th degree, of latitude, excepting the ter- 
ritory of any other Christian prince or people, already occu 
pied ; one, called the First, or South Colony, the other, the 



26 



HISTORY OF 



Second, or North Colony, of Virginia. He authorized sir 
1606 Thomas Gates, sir George Summers, Richard Hak- 
luyt, and others, mostly resident in London, to settle 
in a limited district of the South. An equal extent of the 
North, he allotted to several gentlemen and merchants of 
Bristol, Plymouth, and other parts of the west of England. 
As the object of association was new, so the plan of con- 
ducting their affairs was uncommon. The supreme gov- 
ernment of the colonies was vested in a council, resident in 
England, to be nominated by the king; the subordinate ju- 
risdiction, in a council, which was to reside in America, and 
also to be named by the crown, and act conformably with 
its instructions. Several clauses, however, evinced con- 
siderable liberality. Whatever was required for their sus- 
tenance, or for the support of commerce, he permitted to 
be shipped from England free of duty, during the space of 
seven years : and, as a further incitement to industry, grant- 
ed them the liberty of trading with other nations ; appropri- 
ating the duties to be laid on foreign traffic for twenty-one 
years, as a fund for their exclusive benefit. 

Though many persons of distinction became proprietors 
in the company which undertook to plant the first colony 
in Virginia, its stock was inconsiderable, and its efforts ex- 
tremely feeble. In those days, the arts were not understood, 
by which vast undertakings can be accomplished, as much 
by the credit, as by the capital, of a corporation. A vessel 
of only a hundred tons, and two barks, under the command 
of captain Newport, sailed with one hundred and five men, 
destined to remain in the country. Some of these were of 
respectable families ; particularly Mr. Percy, a brother of 
the Earl of Northumberland, and several officers who had 
served with reputation in the preceding reign. In follow- 
ing the ancient course by the West Indies, Newport made 
a tedious passage. But, though his passage was retarded, 
his arrival was propitious. The first land that he discovered 
was a promontory, the southern boundary of the Chesa- 
* peake ; which he named Cape Henry, in honour of 
1 8C)t' ^ e P rmce °f Wales. He immediately entered that 
spacious inlet ; and, keeping along the southern 
shore, sailed about sixty miles up a river, called by the na- 
tives Powhatan; but to which he gave the name of James 
River, through respect to his sovereign. Here, the colony 
determined to reside. Having, therefore, chosen a proper 
site for their infant settlement, they conferred on it the 
name of Jamestown ; which it still retains : and, though 



THE UNITED STATES. 



27 



it never advanced either to opulence or importance, it ig 
on one account remarkable : it can boast of being the most 
ancient habitation of the English on the American conti- 
nent. 

In its earliest infancy, this feeble society were involved in 
war. Imprudent in their conduct towards the natives, the 
suspicion, already excited in the minds of these independent 
people, always watchful against invasion, was now height- 
ened into resentment, at this open violation of their rights,, 
To war, was added a calamity more dreadful, that bravery 
would oppose in vain. A scarcity of provisions, approach- 
ing to a famine, introduced diseases ; which, aided by the 
effects of a sultry climate upon their exhausted frames, in 
a few months swept away half their number, and left the 
remainder sickly and dejected. " In such trying extremi- 
ties," says an admired historian, " the comparative powers 
of every individual are discovered and called forth ; and 
each, naturally, takes that station, and assumes that ascen- 
dency, to which he is entitled by his talents and force of 
mind." Every eye was now turned towards captain Smith, 
who had been appointed in England one of the council ; 
and all willingly devolved on him the government ; an au- 
thority much greater than that of which, on their arrival, 
they had unjustly deprived him. 

A character so distinguished in the annals of Virginia ; 
so marked, by nature, with those bold traits of spirit and of 
genius ; arrests the historian's pen, and claims a more than 
ordinary notice ; a degree of attention, in some measure pro- 
portioned to the transactions w T ith w T hich he is associated. 
Captain John Smith, the father of Virginia, was born of an 
ancient family, in 1579, at Willoughby, in Lincolnshire, 
and educated in the schools of Alford and Louth. His pa- 
rents, who died when he was only in his thirteenth year, 
left him a small estate ; which, however, through his own 
want of economy, and the inattention of his guardians, be- 
came soon inadequate to his support. He then accompa- 
nied a son of the famous lord Willoughby to France ; and, 
after remaining there a short time, returned to his relations; 
who gave him a few shillings, out of his own estate, as an 
acquittance from any further demands. He next served 
for some years in the Low Countries, against the Spaniards, 
Thence, passing over into Scotland, he remained there a 
short time amongst his friends : but, weary ol the successive 
intemperance of company, in which he had never felt de- 
light, he retired, with a faithful servant, into the midst of 



28 



HISTORY OF 



an extensive forest, and, on the margin of a little brook, 
entwined an arbour of boughs ; in which he lay, with no 
other bed than leaves, no covering except his ordinary 
dress. His study consisted in Machiavel's art of war, and 
Marcus Aurelius ; his exercise, a good horse, with his 
" lance and ring his food, the deer, the rambling inhabit- 
ant of the woods. Satiated, at length, by retirement, he 
allowed himself again to intermingle in society, was again 
disgusted, and entered, a second time, into the wars against 
the Spaniards : but, abhorring a contest, in which one 
Christian was employed in the slaughter of another, he de- 
termined to use his sword in a cause more congenial with 
his feelings. Accordingly, after various misfortunes, and 
extraordinary, romantic adventures, he joined the Hunga- 
rian army, at that time righting under the banners of Aus- 
tria, against the Turks. By his ingenious stratagems, he 
contributed highly to his party's success. When encamp- 
ed before the walls of Regall, in Transylvania, he had an 
opportunity of distinguishing himself in a most singular 
adventure. So much time had been spent by the Chris- 
tians in erecting batteries, that the Turks were apprehen- 
sive lest their enemy would depart, without making an 
assault upon the town ; and, thereby, prevent them from 
gaining honour in their repulse ; an honour, the more de- 
sirable, as many ladies of exalted rank were anxious ob- 
servers of the siege, and longed, after so much delay, to 
see " some court-like pastime." In that chivalrous age, 
w T hen every soldier fought under the patronage of a favour- 
ite mistress, whose image was impressed upon his heart, 
to request was to ensure performance. A Turkish noble 
immediately challenged any captain of the besieging army 
to single combat, " for each other's* head." The challenge 
was readily accepted. The champion was appointed by 
lot, and fate selected the intrepid Smith. — The combat soon 
commenced, and soon the Turk paid the forfeit of his head i 
the ladies were desirous of another trial, and again Smith 
was rewarded with a head ; the request was repeated^ and 
the issue was the same. Shortly afterwards, he aided in 
taking the place by storm ; and, for his former exploit, 
(which nothing but the manners of the age can excuse,) his 
name was enrolled in the heraldic records of Transylva- 
nia, with the appropriate armorial bearing of three Turks' 
heads. 

The undaunted temper of Smith, deeply tinctured with 
the romantic spirit of the times, was happily adapted to the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



29 



present trying situation. The vigour of his constitution 
was unimpaired, and his mind knew not the sensation of 
danger. As the recompense of his toils, he saw abundance 
and contentment re-established, and hoped that he should 
be able to maintain his people in a comfortable state, until 
the arrival of supplies from England. But his expectation 
was destroyed by an interesting misfortune. When hunt- 
ing in the woods, he was attacked by two hundred Indians, 
who poured upon him a continued flight of arrows. Seiz- 
ing one of the assailants, Smith tied him with his garter to 
his arm, and used him as a shield to arrest the darts ; a re- 
source which did not induce his companions to desist, nor 
was it sufficient to prevent their weapons from occasionally 
reaching the intended mark. He sunk, in this unequal 
contest, and was made prisoner. Charmed, however, by 
the various arts which he used to astonish or to please hia 
Indian victors, they released him from captivity. Three 
hundred more, however, of these wandering people, a sec- 
ond time pursued him, forced him to seek refuge in a marsh, 
and, after he had thrown away his arms, which, by reason 
of the cold, he could no longer use, obliged him to surren- 
der, and carried him in triumph to Powhatan, the principal 
chieftain of Virginia. The doom of death being pro- 
nounced, he was led to the place of execution, and his head 
already bowed down to receive the fatal blow ; when the 
tender sentiment of female pity interposed in his behalf. 
At that instant, the favourite daughter of Powhatan rushed 
in between him and the uplifted club ; and, by her entreaties 
and her tears, prevailed on her father to recall his sentence. 
Nor did the beneficence of this amiable child, (for she had 
not yet attained her thirteenth year,) terminate in the sav- 
ing cf his life : she soon afterwards procured his liberty, 
and sent him, from time to time, seasonable presents of 
provisions. 

On his return to Jamestown, Smith found the colony 
reduced to thirty-eight persons ; who, in despair, were 
making preparations to abandon a country, which they 
thought not destined to be the habitation of Englishmen. 
This resolution, he with difficulty induced them to defer. 
The anxiously expected succour from England shortly af- 
terwards arrived. Plenty was again restored : one hundred 
new planters were added to their number ; and they receiv- 
ed all things required for the interest of agriculture. But, 
an unlucky incident diverted their attention from the prop- 
er means of securing comfort to their situation. In a small 
3* 



30 



HISTORY OF 



stream that issued from a bank of sand, near Jamestown 
there was discovered a shining mineral substance, resem- 
bling gold. Every hand was now employed in its collection : 
large quantities of this glittering dust were gathered ; and, 
by the judgment of an artist, whose ignorance of minerals 
was exceeded only by the credulity of his companions, it 
was pronounced extremely rich. With this imaginary 
wealth, the first vessel returning to England was entirely 
laden. The culture of the land, and every useful employ- 
ment, were neglected ; either forgotten, or abandoned with 
contempt. 

The effects of this delusion were soon severely felt. Not- 
withstanding all the provident activity, the unremitting 
anxiety, the extraordinary self-denial, of captain Smith, the 
colony began to suffer as much as formerly, from scarcity 
of food and the consequent visitation of distempers. In the 
hope of obtaining some relief, Smith proposed to open an 
intercourse with the remote Indian tribes, and to ascertain 
their state of culture and population. The execution of 
this arduous and dangerous design, he, with his accustom- 
ed bravery and zeal, undertook himself; with a small open 
boat, a feeble crew, and a very scanty stock of provisions. 

Yqoq He began his survey at Cape Charles ; and, in two dif- 
ferent excursions, which occupied above four months, 
visited all the countries on the eastern and western shores 
of the bay, entered most of the considerable creeks, traced 
many of the great rivers to their falls, and obtained a sup- 
ply of food for the suffering colony. After sailing upwards 
of three thousand miles, and surmounting the severest 
hardships, with fortitude equal to whatever is related of 
the most daring adventurers, he returned to Jamestown ; 
bringing an account of that large tract of country, now 
comprehended in the states of Virginia and Maryland : so 
full and correct, that from his map nearly all the subsequent 
delineations have been formed. 

1609 ^ * a * s P el "i°d? a change was made in the consti- 
tution of the company, that promised to afford the 
colony security and happiness. 

The supreme direction of all their operations, which the 
king had reserved to himself, discouraged persons of rank ? 
property, or independent spirit, from becoming members 
of a society, subjected to the arbitrary decisions of the 
crown ; upon a representation of which to James, he grant- 
ed them a new charter, with privileges more ample and ex- 
plicitly defined. He enlarged the boundaries of the colo- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



81 



ny ; abolished the jurisdiction of the council in Virginia; 
vested the government entirely in one residing in London, 
the members of which were to be chosen by a majority of 
the proprietors ; whom he empowered to nominate a govern- 
or, who should remain in Virginia, and carry their orders 
into execution. 

To that important office, the new council appointed lord 
Delaware : but, as this nobleman could not immediately 
leave England, sir Thomas Gates and sir George Summers, 
the former of whom had been chosen lieutenant general, 
the latter, admiral, were despatched, with five hundred 
planters. Unfortunately, a violent hurricane separated, 
from the rest of the fleet, the vessel in which these officers 
had embarked. The remainder arrived safely at James- 
town. The accident, however, produced consequences 
which were serious and embarrassing. The original form 
of government was held abolished ; no legal warrant could 
be found, for establishing any other ; and every thing tend- 
ed to the wildest anarchy. Smith was not in a condition 
to act with his accustomed vigour. By an accidental ex- 
plosion of gun-powder, this generous hero, at once the Fa- 
bius and Marcellus, the shield and sword, of the infant colo- 
ny, had been so dreadfully mangled, that he was incapa- 
ble of moving ; and was under the necessity of being carried 
to England, in the hope of recovering by a mode of treat- 
ment, more skilful than he could meet in Virginia. 

We shall not attempt to exhibit a picture of the wretch- 
edness which followed. We are unequal to the task ; and, 
even were the task accomplished, the exhibition would be 
alike superfluous and disgusting. In less than six months, 
of five hundred persons, whom Smith had left in Virginia, 
only sixty remained alive ; so feeble and dejected, that they 
could not have prolonged their existence for many days, 
had not succour arrived from a quarter, whence it could not 
IQIQ have been expected, even by hope itself. Gates and 
Summers made their appearance. Although wreck- 
ed on one of the Bermuda islands, none of their compan- 
ions had perished; and a considerable part of their pro 
vision had been saved. In that delightful spot, the hand of 
nature was so liberal, that one hundred and fifty persons 
subsisted comfortably, for ten months, upon her bounty. 
Impatient, however, to escape from a place where they 
were cut off from the rest of mankind ; for, all was solitude, 
— not a wandering Indian was found amidst its forests ; they 
commenced the building of two barks ; which, by wonder* 



32 



HISTORY OF 



fill ingenuity and perseverance, they at length completed, 
and, in these, after a more prosperous voyage than could 
reasonably have been expected, they arrived at Jamestown. 
But the relief which they afforded, though it saved the 
wretched survivors from immediate death, was unable to 
preserve them until the autumn. Nothing now remained, 
but that the whole should abandon the colony, and seek 
more immediate assistance. With only sixteen days' pro- 
vision, they set sail, therefore, in hopes of soon reaching 
the banks of Newfoundland, and getting relief from their 
countrymen, employed there, at that season, in the fishery. 
But, before they had proceeded to the mouth of the river, 
they were met by lord Delaware ; who brought a large 
supply of sustenance, a considerable number of new settlers, 
^nd every thing requisite either for cultivation or defence. 
1611 Under the humane and skilful administration of 
this nobleman, the colony began, once more, to as- 
iiime a promising appearance. He was succeeded by sii 
Thomas Dale ; who concluded a treaty of friendship with 
.he Powhatans ; one of the most powerful and warlike tribes 
fii Virginia. 

An event, not very honourable to the governor, prepared 
the way for that union. Pocahuntas, to whose intercession 
captain Smith was indebted for his life, having persevered 
in her attachment to the English, frequently visited their 
settlements ; and, during this intercourse, was betrayed, by 
a reward of a copper kettle given to an old Indian woman, 
on board a vessel, and there imprisoned. Her father, who 
loved her with most ardent affection, was now obliged to 
discontinue hostilities, and conclude a treaty, on such terms 
as were dictated by his treacherous enemy. The treaty, 
thus begun in perfidy, was, notwithstanding, productive of 
signal benefit ; and, in consequence of a subsequent oc- 
currence, cherished by its victim, with as much attach- 
ment, as it had before experienced his opposition. The 
beauty of Pocahuntas made so great an impression on Mr. 
Rolfe, a young gentleman of considerable rank, that he 
warmly entreated her to accept of him as a husband. The 
princess readily consented, and her father did not disap- 
1613 P rove tn ® ai ^ iance * The marriage was celebrated, 
with extraordinary pomp ; and, from that period, a 
friendly correspondence subsisted between the colony and 
all the tribes subject to Powhatan, or that were under the 
influence of his power. Rolfe and his princess went to 
England ; where, by the introduction of captain Smith, she 



THE UNITED STATES. 



was received at court, with the respect due to her birth, 
and to the happy advantages arising from the union ; was 
carefully instructed in the Christian religion, and publicly 
baptized. In her return to America, Pocahuntas died at 
Gravesend. She left one son : from whom are sprung 
some of the most respectable families in Virginia ; who 
boast of their descent from this celebrated female, the 
daughter of the ancient rulers of the country. 

Powhatan had sent with the princess a cunning Indian, 
under pretence of merely officiating as her servant ; but, it 
soon appeared, that this man was vested with a very differ- 
ent, and far more important, commission — the numbering 
of the inhabitants of England ; in fact, the making of a sta- 
tistical survey of the nation. For this purpose, on his ar- 
rival at Plymouth, he procured a long stick, upon w T hich 
he assiduously began to note the census : but, a very short 
time being sufficient to convince him that his arithmetic 
was inadequate to so extended a task, he wisely relinquished 
the design. 

Meanwhile, sir Thomas Dale, not satisfied with the con- 
cessions already extorted from Powhatan, deputed a mes- 
senger to that prince, with further indications of his friend- 
ship. " The governor," said the agent of this insidious 
offer, " has sent you two pieces of copper, five strings of 
white and blue beads, five wooden combs, ten fishing-hooks, 
and a pair of knives ; he will also give you a grind-stone, if 
you think proper to convey it from the settlement : hearing 
of the excellent qualities of your youngest daughter, he in- 
tends to marry her, and desires that you will send her to 
him by me." - — "I gladly accept your salute of love and 
peace," replied the wary chieftain, " which, while I live, I 
shall respect ; and I thankfully receive the pledges of his 
esteem : but, as for my daughter, I have given her to a 
prince who resides about three days' journey hence." — 
" You can, however, recall her, to gratify ' your brother,' " 
rejoined the messenger ; " and the more easily, as she is 
now only twelve years old." — "Never," returned the in- 
dignant father ; " I love my daughter as my life ; and, 
though I have many children, I delight in none so much 
as in her. Should I not often behold her, I could not pos- 
sibly exist : and see her I could not, were she to be con- 
signed to him : having resolved not to put myself into the 
hands of your people, nor go amongst them. Carry back, 
then, to my brother, this answer, — that I desire no further 
proof of his friendship, than the promise he has made . 



34 



HISTORY OF 



from me, he has a pledge, one of my beloved daughters , 
which, during her life, must be sufficient : when she dies, 
he shall have another. But I hold it not a brotherly part, 
his desiring to bereave me of two of my children, at once. 
If any injury be offered, my country is large enough to se- 
cure me from his grasp : I am old, and wish to conclude 
my days in peace." 

Hitherto, no right of individual property in lands was 
established. The small quantity which had been cleared, 
was cultivated by the joint labour of the whole ; the pro- 
duce was lodged in common store-housesy and distributed 
weekly to every family, according to its numbers and its 
wants. A society, so constituted, might, indeed, under a 
rigid discipline, and the terrors of actual famine, produce 
the mere requisites of existence ; but it was not formed to 
advance beyond that lowest approximation to a state of in- 
fancy. The idle must still be a weight on the industrious. 
To remedy this evil, the governor divided a considerable 
extent of land into small lots, and granted one of these, for 
ever, to each individual ; from which period, the colony 
1616 ra P^ty extended and improved. They began the 
culture of tobacco, a native of that soil, since be- 
come the great staple of Virginia. But the eager demand 
for this article in England, caused, for some time, another 
scarcity of food ; the inconsiderate attention to its produc- 
tion constrained the settlers again to plunder the unhappy 
Indians, revived their antipathy to the English name, and 
called forth a renewal of their desolating vengeance. 

Notwithstanding this dreadful state of alarm, the colo- 
nists still pursued the cultivation of the favourite plant ; 
and, as they formed more extensive projects, were unex- 
pectedly furnished with the means of executing them with 
greater facility. How much would we rejoice, could the 
cause, at this moment, be buried in oblivion, its effect be 
no longer traced ! A Dutch ship, from the coast of Guinea, 
having sailed up James' River, sold to the planters a part 
of her negroes ; which race has been augmented in Virginia, 
by successive importations, and the natural increase, un- 
til it exceeds the number of the whites. What a climax 
Gf human cupidity and turpitude ; what a glaring inconsist 
enee, between the public professions, and the private ac- 
tions, of individuals ; are here presented for consideration ! 
Only forty years were elapsed, since Holland had burst the 
fetters of a Spanish despot. She was, at this period, the 
favourite asylum of the oppressed : thus, enjoying a politi- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



35 



cal freedom, made yet sweeter by the recollections of a 
sanguinary bondage, and the proud satisfaction of receiving 
within her bosom the trembling victims of superstition. But, 
the fetters which her citizens had thus broken, and cast 
upon the ground, are quickly lifted and repaired. With 
adamantine permanence, they are transferred to the feeble, 
unoffending native, of another clime. The commerce, 
which liberty had extended, is now made subservient to the 
increase of slavery. The colonists become partakers in the 
crime : they place the last rivet to the chains, and plead ne- 
cessity in exculpation. But, there was no necessity : the 
land which they had deserted maintained only a scanty 
population, and required not their removal. Its neglected 
soil was more generous, its climate more congenial, than 
was either in the country that they adopted ; its laws more 
liberal than those which they now obeyed. It had not driv- 
en these colonists away : their emigration was voluntary ; 
embraced with ardour, because dictated by ambition. 

Scarcely had they committed this violence on the liber- 
ty of others, when they succeeded in the extension of their 
own. While trampling on their fellow men, they seemed 
to rise in their own importance, and be impressed with * 
more lively sense of the value of freedom. In compliance 

1619 ^ s s P^ r ^' tne g overnor > si r George Yeardley, 

called a general assembly, the first held in Virginia. 
Population was now so increased, and the settlements were 
so dispersed, that eleven corporations sent representatives to 
this convention ; which was permitted to assume legislative 
power, one of the natural rights of man. The supreme au- 
thority was lodged partly in the governor, partly in a council 
of state appointed by the company, and in a general assem- 
bly, composed of representatives of the people. The first 
resembled the sovereign ; the second, the house of peers ; 
the last, the house of commons, of the British constitution : 
then the best mode of free government ever established by 
any nation of the world, and the system from which all sub- 
sequent English colonial policy has been formed. 

A natural effect of that happy change, was an increase of 
their agriculture. There was now produced tobacco, ade- 
quate not only to the consumption of Great Britain, but 
some also for a foreign market. The company opened a 
trade with Holland, and established warehouses in Middle- 
burgh and Flushing. This measure is remarkable, as hav- 
ing produced the first difference of sentiment between the 
colony and the parent state. Jealous at seeing a commodi 



36 



HISTORY OF 



ty, for which the demand was every day increasing, con 
ducted to foreign ports, without being subject to its control, 
thereby causing a diminution of its revenue, the latter en- 
deavoured to check this colonial enterprise ; the former con- 
sidering the restraint a breach of the sacred principles of 
justice. 

The bold spirit of discussion which the new constitution 
had infused into the general courts of the colony in London, 
having soon drawn the attention, and roused the suspicion, 
of James, their charter, by a decision of the king's bench, 
was forfeited, and the company dissolved. His successor, 
Charles the first, adopted all his father's maxims, with re- 
spect to Virginia ; so that, during a great part of his reign, 
it knew no other law than the royal will. But, the colonists 
not quietly submitting to this system of oppression, Charles 
yielded to the people's voice : he recalled Harvey, his ob- 
noxious governor, and in his place appointed sir William 
Berkeley ; a man of consummate abilities and exalted rank, 
prudent, virtuous, and popular : under whose administra- 
tion, Virginia remained, with some short periods of inter- 
ruption, almost forty years. This pleasing change in the 
person of the governor, was accompanied by a still farther 
amelioration in the mode of government. The growing 
opposition experienced by the king, from domestic subjects, 
prompted him to court the affections of those abroad. 
Berkeley, though the literal tenor of his commission was 
the same with that of his predecessor, received instructions 
to declare, that, in all its concerns, civil and ecclesiastical, 
the colony would be governed by the laws of England. He 
was directed to issue writs for choosing representatives of 
the people ; who, in conjunction with himself and the coun- 
cil, were to form a general assembly, and possess supreme 
legislative power, (subject, however, to the ratification of 
the general courts in England,) and to establish courts of 
justice, in which all causes should be decided, agreeably to 
the forms of procedure in the parent state. 

After royalty was abolished in Great Britain, by the 
execution of the king, and the consequent establishment 
of a commonwealth, the authority of the crown continued 
to be acknowledged in Virginia. Retaining a lively grati- 
tude towards a monarch, from whom, through whatever 
reason, they had received immunities, not less valuable 
than unexpected, the colonists had preserved unshaken 
joyaity to Charles, during all his misfortunes. But the 
measures of the commonwealth were prompt and vigor- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



37 



lfif . 1 ous. A numerous squadron, with a considerable 
body of land-forces, was despatched, to reduce the 
Virginians to obedience. Berkeley made resistance to this 
formidable armament ; but could not long maintain so une- 
qual a contest. He was soon defeated. His gallant con- 
duct, however, instead of injuring, was of service, to his 
people. They received indemnity for the past, and were 
allowed all the privileges of citizens. But the governor 
disdained to make any stipulations for himself ; and, choos- 
ing to pass his days far from a government which he de- 
tested, he continued, for some years, in Virginia, as a pri- 
vate man, beloved and respected by all over whom he had 
presided. 

The English commonwealth was not satisfied with the 
mere subjection of the colonies. It next turned its atten- 
tion to securing, by an express law, the benefit of their in- 
creasing commerce. With this view, the parliament framed 
two acts : one, prohibiting all mercantile intercourse be- 
tween the colonies and foreign states ; the other, the im- 
portation of Asiatic, African, or American produce, into 
the dominions of the commonwealth, except in vessels be- 
longing to English subjects, or to the people of the respect- 
ive colonies from which the importation was made ; navi- 
gated by an English commander, and by crews, the greater 
part of which must be Englishmen. 

On the death of Mathews, the last governor appointed 
by Cromwell, after he had usurped the supreme power, the 
Virginians, no longer under the control of authority, burst 
out with the utmost violence. They forced sir William 
Berkeley from his retirement, boldly erected the royal 
standard, and proclaimed Charles the second, son of the 
late monarch, their lawful sovereign. Thus, they were 
the last British subjects who renounced, and the first who 
returned, to their allegiance a distinction, which, with 
whatever degree of pride they were once fond of recollect- 
ing it, would, now, be willingly relinquished. 

Indeed, the satisfaction of living under their ancient sove 
reign, was all, perhaps, they had expected. For, though 
the unbending disposition of the Stuarts promised no 
amendment in the government, their title was undisputed, 
their family, from its antiquity, more respected than that 
which had usurped their place ; considerations of moment- 
ous influence, on the minds of a large number of men of 
rank, recently arrived in the colony, to avoid the dangers 
to which their principles exposed them in England. For 
4 



38 



HISTORY OF 



tanately for the Virginians, another revolution soon placed 
Charles the second on the throne, and saved them from the 
chastisement to which they were exposed by their previous 
declaration in his favour. But, gracious professions of es- 
teem were the only return made by the new king for their 
loyalty and service ; and the new parliament, instead of re- 
moving the restraints imposed upon their trade by the com- 
monwealth, not only adopted all their ideas, but carried 
them still further. This produced the memorable Act of 
Navigation. It enjoined, that no commodities should be 
imported into any British settlement, in Asia, Africa, or 
America, or exported from them, except in vessels built 
in England, or in the plantations ; of which vessels, the 
masters and three fourths of the mariners should be Eng- 
lish subjects : and that no sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, indi- 
go, or woods used in dying, of the growth or manufacture 
of the colonies, should be shipped from them to any country 
except England. Soon afterwards, this act was extended, 
and prohibited the importation of any European commodity 
into the colonies, unless laden in England, in vessels navi- 
gated according to the tenor of the act. 

From that period, until the English revolution in 1688, 
if we except an insurrection raised by Nathaniel Bacon, a 
colonel of militia, there is no occurrence in the history of 
Virginia, essential to be noticed. The number of its inha- 
bitants then exceeded sixty thousand ; by which, it appears, 
that in the previous twenty-eight years its population had 
doubled. 

The college of William and Mary, at Williamsburg, 
until the establishment of the university, at Charlotteville, 
the principal seminary of learning in this state, was founded 
in 1691, in the reign of the sovereigns whose name it bears. 
To aid in its erection and support, they gave nearly two 
thousand pounds, out of their private purse, and granted 
twenty thousand acres of land, besides a penny a pound on 
,11 tobacco sent from the province and from Maryland to 
he other English plantations. The assembly gave it addi- 
ional revenues ; which increased its annual income to up- 
ards of three thousand pounds ; and a considerable dona- 
tion was added, by the great Irish philosopher Boyle, for 
the literary and religious instruction of the Indians. 

When the continent of North America was first visited 
by Europeans, the whole country, with the exception of 
small patches cleared by the aborigines, and the prairies^ 
or natural meadows, since discovered in the western terri 



THE UNITED STATES. 



39 



tories, was one uninterrupted forest. The groves were 
generally thick and lofty. Sometimes, the trees were felled 
by the aid of fire and of sharp stones, but, for the most part, 
they grew, died, and decayed, upon the same spot. Much 
of the surface, especially near the sea-coast and along the 
banks of rivers, was covered with swamps and stagnant 
waters. There were no horses, cows, sheep, swine, nor 
tame animals of any kind ; but plenty of deer, moose, elks, 
and buffaloes ; bears, squirrels, and rabbits : also wolves, and 
a kind of lion ; besides other quadrupeds, amounting in the 
whole, by the accounts received in Virginia, to twenty- 
eight different species. There was abundance of wild tur- 
keys, pigeons, swans, geese, ducks, partridges, herons, 
cranes, and hawks ; and a vast number of other birds ; mak- 
ing, in all, eighty-five kinds. Sturgeon, herring, trout, ray, 
mullet, plaice ; together with crabs, lobsters, tortoises, mus- 
cles, and oysters ; abounded in the rivers. In the woods, 
the natives gathered, chesnuts, grapes, walnuts, medlars, 
apple-crabs, hurtleberries, and strawberries : they cultivat- 
ed maize, peas, beans, pompions, melons, and gourds ; and 
were furnished, by the hand of nature, with an extensive va- 
riety of large bulbous roots, which they dried and used as 
bread. In agriculture, they had made some progress. 
With wooden instruments, they broke up the surface of 
the ground, and levelled the weeds and old stalks of corn ; 
which, after remaining for a while exposed to the sun, they 
burned to ashes, and scattered as manure. At a distance 
of three feet, and in regular rows, they made holes, in each 
of which they sowed four grains of corn, every grain being 
separate ; and, in the intervals, planted beans, peas, pom- 
pions, melons, and other useful vegetables. This is very 
similar to the most improved method of the present day ; 
and, when viewed in conjunction with the produce, leads 
to an opinion, that these people were not inferior, in the 
arts of husbandry, to the cotemporaneous inhabitants of 
Great Britain ; and that they wanted only the aid of iron 
to render them superior.* " An English acre, amongst 
the Indians," says Hariot, the acute observer, from whom, 
chiefly, is drawn this account of their domestic economy 

* " Agriculture, though much improved," says Hume, " was still very 
imperfect. So much so, that the people of England, in a great measure, 
depended upon foreign nations for their daily bread. Wheat was con- 
sidered low at thirty-two shillings; barley, at sixteen shillings per quarter 
of eight bushels." — Reign of James the first. 



40 



HISTORY OF 



and means of subsistence, " will yield, of corn, beans, and 
peas, two hundred London bushels ; whereas, in England, 
forty bushels of wheat from the same extent, are considered 
as a large crop." In some other parts, however, they pur- 
sued the cultivation of the soil on a much more extended 
scale. Towards the south, in those districts now known 
by the names of West Florida and Alabama, many thou- 
sand bushels of corn were collected against a time of need, 
in the public granaries. This grain, distinguished in Eu- 
rope by the name of maize, was called by the Indians poga- 
tour. In Virginia, there were silk-worms, of a large 
species ; grass, resembling silk, of which a piece of cloth 
was manufactured in England ; besides flax and hemp, 
equal in quality to those of Britain. But, of all the ob- 
jects of cultivation, the most careful attention seemed 
given to the uppowac ; at present known, in commercial 
language, by the name of tobacco. This was sown in beds 
distinct from every other plant ; as if to preserve it from 
the unhallowed contact of an ignoble companion ; it being 
the favourite incense offered to their deity, and considered 
efficacious in quelling the stormy waves. They did not, 
however, confine its use to the altar of the invisible spirit. 
It had an extensive consumption, in the ordinary mode of 
smoking, in pipes made of clay, as a potent averter of dis- 
ease. 

Their houses were built in a variety of forms, and of va- 
rious dimensions. Some were framed with small poles, 
brought together and fastened at the top, in a round, or an 
oval form, resembling an arbour in an English garden, and 
covered w T ith bark, or with mats made of long rushes : 
others were constructed with whole trees, in the manner of 
the present log-house, and covered^ with palmetto leaves. 
In several of these, which, according to the opinion of Ha- 
riot, were not inferior to the houses of Great. Britain, a hun- 
dred people slept in one room ; there being a separate apart- 
ment for the king and queen. Each person lay on a log of 
wood, hollowed so as to accommodate the back, with the 
head supported on a higher piece, which formed the pillow. 
The fire was kindled in the centre, and the smoke found a 
passage through the door. # Ignition was produced by a 



* England, about the same period, offers a similar picture of do- 
mestic economy. "At this time, the dwellings of people, even of 
considerable estate, were of plank, badly put together, and chimneys 
were almost unknown in England. The fire was kindled by the wall, 



THE UNITED STATES. 41 



continued rubbing together of two sticks. They had nei 
ther chair nor stool, but sat on the ground, commonly with 
their elbows on their knees; a mode and attitude still in 
general practice amongst the poor peasantry in some parts 
of Europe. A few wooden and stone vessels served every 
domestic purpose. Their knife was a sharp stone, shell, 
or reed ; with which, they cut their hair, and trimmed their 
bows and arrows. They made their axes of stones, in 
shape similar to those of iron. They had wooden mor- 
tars, stone pestles, and chisels ; and dressed their corn with 
a clam-shell, or with a stick made flat and sharp at one end. 
They had hooks made of flexible bone, which they used for 
fishing ; and nets, for the same purpose, thirty feet long, 
wrought with cords of hemp, twisted by the women. Their 
towns, near the sea-coast, were small, and few in number. 
They contained each from ten to thirty houses ; and were 
not unfrequently defended by a wall of stakes, driven closely 
together into the ground. 

The language of one community was different from that 
of another ; and the greater the intervening distance be- 
tween the nations, the more perceptible was the dissimi- 
larity. 

Notwithstanding that these people were very ignorant, 
when compared with the English, (in the opinion of the 
same writer.) yet, making allowance for their want of means 
to display their acquirements, they were both smart and in- 
genious. Nor were they destitute of religion. Unaided 
by the blessings of revelation, they had, by the mere dic- 
tates of natural reason, received a system, which was, in a 
great measure, adequate to the prevention of injustice. 
They believed, that there were many gods ; who were of 
various degrees, and possessed peculiar attributes : but, 
that there was one God, above the whole, by whom the 
others, and the universe, were made : that the soul was 
immortal ; and that there was, in a future state, a place of 
reward for the virtuous, and punishment for the wicked. 
They had priests ; and also temples, where were placed 
images of their gods, in human shape, which they wor- 
shiped. 



and the smoke found its way through the roof, door, or windows. The 
furniture was appropriate. The people slept on straw pallets, having a 
log under their heads for a pillow, and almost every domestic utensil wa» 
of wood." — Reign of Mary. — Hume* 

4* . < 



42 



HISTORY OF 



The priests were not so positive in regard to the truth 
of their own religion, as to prevent their expressing great 
doubts of its correctness, and listening, with much atten- 
tion, to the doctrines of Christianity ; a respect, however, 
caused by an impression, that the English were, in compa- 
rison with themselves, a superior order of beings. They 
treated their governors with profound reverence ; and were 
obedient to the laws ; which inflicted penalties in propor- 
tion to the crime, extending, for enormous offences, to life 
itself. 

The narrow circle within which we have confined our ob- 
servations, precludes our relating the manners and customs 
of many Indian nations, advanced much higher towards 
civilization. The Peruvians and Mexicans had risen far 
above those of the north ; and, in the less remote districts, 
bordering on the great western waters of the present Uni- 
ted States, works of considerable importance in the science 
of defensive warfare, as well as institutions of civil govern- 
ment, evinced a degree of elevation, much above the rude 
operations of primitive society. No stronger evidence need 
be offered in support of the latter assertion, than the cir- 
cumstance of females being, in several nations, invested 
with supreme authority. Amongst a people as yet un- 
acquainted with the salutary restraints imposed by a so- 
cial contract of civil government, and whose natural ener- 
gies are solely turned to the business of war, those, only, 
are honoured with the chief station, who are qualified, by 
their valour and experience, to lead the nation against an 
enemy. But, here, the long-established practice of civ- 
ilized monarchies appeared. Hereditary accession haa 
gradually arisen, when the people, having acquired a relisil 
for domestic comforts, no longer * sought to enlarge their 
territories, by the extermination of a neighbour, but aimed 
solely at guarding their ancient possessions against occa- 
sional incursion. 

In their persons, the Indians of America are, in general, 
tall, straight, and well proportioned ; with dark eyes, and 
aquiline nose : their colour is a dark brown, approaching 
more to a black, than a red, hue : their hair, we believe, is 
universally black, of uncommon strength. Beards are rare- 
ly seen amongst them : a smooth chin is considered an es- 
sential mark of decency : and, accordingly, a hair is not 
suffered for a moment to appear ; a fashion since adopted 
in Europe, though entirely opposite to that which prevailed 
there at the period of the first English settlement n Vir- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



43 



ginia ; as the mustachio was then universal. Captain Smith 
speaks of accidentally meeting " his old friend Mosco a lus- 
ty savage of Wichomoco," whom he took to be " a French- 
man's son, because he had acquired a black bushy beard." 
■ — " BufTon," observes Mr. Charles Thomson, in allusion to 
the characteristic traits of the aborigines, " has, indeed, 
given an affecting picture of the man of America : but, 
sure I am, that there never was a picture more unlike the 
original. 4 They have no beard,' that author assorts ! 
Had he known the pains and trouble it costs the men to 
pluck out, by the roots, the hair which grows on their faces, 
he would have confessed that nature had not been deficient 
in that respect. I have seen an Indian beau, with a glass 
in his hand, examining his face for hours together, and 
pulling out every hair he could discover, with a kind of 
tweezer, which he used with great dexterity." 

In dress, and artificial appearance in general, they resem- 
bled the ancient Britons. They were partially clothed in 
deerskins, coloured yellow, red, russet, or black : their bo- 
dies, also, were stained, and punctured with thorns, to make 
the paint more lasting. The women sometimes wore gowns 
of moss, ingeniously matted into a kind of cloth. A few of 
the men had in their ears a small green and yellow snake, 
about half a yard in length ; which, twining itself around 
their necks, would often familiarly kiss their lips. Some 
ornamented their heads with the wing of a bird, or a large 
feather and a rattle : others, with the entire skin of a hawk, 
stuffed, and the wings extended. Their arms were similar 
to those used by all nations unacquainted with gunpowder, 
— bows, darts, and clubs. Their boats were formed mostly 
from the solid tree, hollowed by stones and fire ; and many 
were capacious enough to carry twenty men, with then 
arms and baggage. 

The Indian is more remarkable for agility than strength; 
fitted rather for the rapid pursuit of the forest game, than 
the laborious duties of agriculture. His frame has habitual- 
ly assumed a texture corresponding with his employment , 
and, in a thinly populated country, this lies amidst the 
swift-footed tenants of the woods. In the same manner, the 
miller, the porter, the city chairman, display their several 
professions, in the conformation of their shoulders, and the 
muscular rotundity of their legs or arms. 

Of all uncivilized people, the Indians are the most dis- 
tinguished orators. When addressing the passions, their 
language is highly figurative and bold j warm 3 animating, 



44 



HISTORY OF 



and interesting. They have an ingenious mode of retain- 
ing the substance of their debates. A number of persons 
stand around the speaker, and, at the end of every division 
of his discourse, receive from him, in succession, a small 
piece of stick, as a memorial of the preceding passage : 
which, on any future occasion, they are thus enabled fully 
to recolJect. 

These are all the observations which it is thought ma- 
terial to make, in this place, respecting the aborigines of 
America. We have not endeavoured to give extraneous 
ornament to history, by ingenious fictions of the imagina- 
tion ; to associate falsehood with truth, and degrade millions 
of our fellow beings, by unsupported assertions of physical 
inferiority. European writers have assigned to the Indian, 
qualities of mind and body — passions of the one, and imbe- 
cilities of the other — which are alike erroneous and un- 
founded. Having discovered a new world, they think that 
it should be inhabited by a people wholly different from 
those of the old, in every thing except the human form : 
but, recollecting that it is taught in Scripture, that the whole 
race of man are descended from a common parent, and that 
this parent was created in Asia, they trace his journey from 
the old world, and show, with industrious anxiety, his Asia- 
tic resemblance. They pursue another branch of their flim- 
sy system, and before their treatise is concluded, destroy the 
entire romance by unavoidable collision. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Settlement of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
Hampshire, and the district of Maine. Sir William Phipps. 

We have already mentioned the partition made of the 
great territory of Virginia, into North and South colonies. 
The operations of the Plymouth company, to whom wa3 
assigned the conduct of the northern division, were still 
more feeble than those of the southern ; though animated 
by the zeal of sir John Popham, chief justice of England, 
sir Ferdinando Gorges, and other public spirited gentlemen 
of the west. 

The first vessel which they sent out was captured by the 
Spaniards ; and their next attempt was not more successful. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



45 



In the following year, 1607, the same in which Jamestown 
was founded, they began a small settlement on the river 
Sagahadoc, now called the Kennebec : but, on account of 
the rigour of the climate, it was soon abandoned ; and, 
for some time, nothing further was attempted, than a few 
fishing voyages to Cape Cod, or a petty traffic with the 
natives. One of the vessels equipped for this purpose, in 
1614, was commanded by captain Smith ; who was employ- 
ed also on objects more congenial with his enterprising 
mind. He explored its coast and delineated its bays and 
harbours. On his return, he laid before the prince of 
Wales, the map, on which he had inscribed " New Eng- 
land a title that the prince, delighted by the representa- 
tions of Smith, immediately confirmed. 

Although that adventure had been lucrative, and easily 
accomplished, it was not sufficient to allure the people to 
emigration. The splendid description which Smith pub- 
lished of his discoveries, as well as the profit.. arising from 
his voyage, was regarded with suspicion. The one was 
viewed as the transcript of a mind, naturally enthusiastic 
and easily deceived by novelty ; the other, as the fruits of 
piratical violence. But, what could not be effected by the 
desire of pecuniary emolument, was accomplished by the 
operations of a higher principle. Religion had gradually 
excited amongst a large body of the English, a spirit emi- 
nently fitted to encounter the dangers, and surmount the 
obstacles, which, hitherto, had rendered abortive the 
schemes of the company at Plymouth. To this, are the 
various settlements in New England indebted for their ori- 
gin. It is not our intention, nor is it essential, to trace, 
minutely, the various decrees fulminated against the exer- 
cise of all religious ceremonies, or against the promulga- 
tion of religious tenets, at variance with the court opinions, 
by the tyrannical Henry, or the less severe ministers of 
Edward ; the ferocious Mary, or the more cautious, and 
less rigid, policy, of Elizabeth and James. To the disgrace 
of Christian professors, the sacred rights of conscience and 
of private judgment, were not properly understood ; nor the 
charity and mutual forbearance taught by their sacred mas- 
ter, at that period practised, in any country. Every church 
employed the hand of power, in supporting its own doc- 
trines, and opposing the tenets of another ; in disseminating 
its own truth, and destroying another's error. When re- 
forming the ritual and exterior symbols of the church o r 
England, Elizabeth, lest, by a too wide departure f r om the 



46 



HISTORY OF 



Roman church, she might alarm the populace, who are 
attached to religious worship, more through the medium 
of the senses than of the understanding, had allowed many 
of the ancient ceremonies to remain unaltered. With seve- 
ral of these, however, a large number of her subjects being 
dissatisfied, they wished to address their Creator agreeably 
to their own opinions, but were subjected to very rigorous 
penalties. One of the most strenuous and popular declaim- 
ers against the established church, was Robert Brown ; who 
reduced his ideas to a system, and prohibited his people 
from holding communion with any other. From their 
founder, his followers were called Brownists ; and, though 
he abandoned his disciples, and accepted a benefice in the 
established church, the sect continued to spread, especially 
in the middle and lower ranks of life. But, as they were 
carefully observed, and rigorously punished, a body, weary 
of living in continual danger and alarm, retired to Holland, 
and settled in Leyden, under the care of a respectable pas- 
tor, Mr. John Robinson. After remaining there for many 
years, the society were desirous of removing to some other 
place, where they might profess and disseminate their opin- 
ions with more pleasure and success ; and, not deterred 
by the hardships to which all former emigrants had been 
exposed, they turned their thoughts upon America, and 
applied to James ; who, though he refused to give them 
any positive assurance of toleration, seems to have inti- 
mated some promise of passive indulgence, so long as their 
conduct was inoffensive. 

Accepting the terms, they readily procured a tract of 
land from the company of Plymouth. But their prepara- 
tions were very inadequate to begin a settlement in a dis- 
tant region. Only one hundred and twenty persons were 
collected for this arduous undertaking. They sailed from 
Plymouth, in 1620 ; their destination being Hudson's River: 
however, the captain of their vessel having been bribed, it 
is said, by the Dutch, who had already formed a plan, af- 
terwards accomplished, of sending thither a colony, carried 
them so far towards the north, that the first land they 
reached was Cape Cod. This treacherous behaviour placed 
them not only beyond their stipulated territory, but even 
beyond the boundaries of the company from whom they 
derived their title. To proceed farther was dangerous. 
It was now the 11th of November. Winter was approach- 
ing, and the hardships of a long voyage had caused a gene- 
ral imbecility and sickness. But the disappointment, eo far 



THE UNITED STATES. 



4"; 



from being injurious, seems a fortunate event : as the coun- 
try of their destination was thickly inhabited by Indians, 
and this, almost depopulated : a pestilence having recently 
swept off more than three fourths of its inhabitants. Be- 
fore landing, they bound themselves, by a written covenant 
to be ruled by the majority ; elected John Carver their 
governor for one year ; and, on the 11th of December 
chose for their station a place, called by the Indians Patux 
et, to which they gave the name of New Plymouth ; partly 
because the harbour in which it is situated had been styled 
Plymouth by captain Smith, and partly in remembrance of 
the kind treatment they had received in the port of that 
name in England. 

Before the spring, half their number were cut off by 
famine or disease ; and even those who remained were un- 
able to give the requisite attention to the providing of food. 
They were frequently employed in skirmishing with the 
Indians. Let it not, however, be imagined, that the latter 
were the aggressors. The records of the ancient settlers 
incontestibly prove that the Indians were attacked without 
provocation. In a few days after the English landed, cap- 
tain Standish, with a party of sixteen men, well armed, 
went to explore the country; and, about a mile from the 
sea, discovered five " savages," who immediately fled. 
" He pursued them about ten miles ; but, night coming on, 
he placed sentinels, kindled a fire, and rested quietly." In 
the morning, he continued the pursuit, as far as Pamet river, 
without seeing either inhabitants or habitations. Early in 
December, he set out upon a fourth expedition of disco- 
very. On the first day, he saw a small party of Indians, 
who fled ; and about midnight, when sleeping in the woods, 
being roused by the sentinel, his men fired two guns, but 
perceived no enemy : the shots, however, alarmed the poor 
natives, who were probably lurking in the neighbourhood, 
anxious to watch the motions of an enemy, who had in- 
vaded their territory, and assailed them without reason. 
Wherefore, in the morning, a shower of arrows was poured 
against the English, accompanied by savage yells, not less 
terrible to the Europeans, than were the explosions of the 
death-dealing musket to the Indians. 

Amongst the various traces of civilized life, then ob- 
served, there was one evidence worthy of attention, as it 
will aid in removing the erroneous estimate of the social 
improvement of those people, so generally entertained. Af 
ter passing some corn-fields, the notice of the English was 



48 



HISTORY OF 



arrested by a regular burying-yard, encompassed with pali- 
sades, driven closely together ; several of the graves being 
carefully surrounded iu the same manner. 

It was a favourite opinion with all the enthusiasts of that 
age, that the Scriptures contained a complete system of 
civil guvernment, as well as of spiritual instruction ; and, 

n consequence, without attending to the peculiar circum- 
stances, or situation, of the people whose history is there 

ecorded, they deduced general rules, for their own con- 
duct, from wnat had been ordained to men in a very differ- 
ent state. Influenced by this erroneous idea, the colonists 
of New Plymouth, in imitation of the primitive Christians, 
placed all their property in a common stock, and carried 
on every work of industry by their joint labour, for public 
benefit. This method, though it displayed the sincerity of 
their professions, retarded the progress of their colony. 
The same fatal effects flowed from this community of 
goods, that had, before, from different motives, been expe- 
rienced in Virginia ; and it was soon, through necessity, 
relinquished. Excited by the same notion, and viewing 
themselves as a chosen people of God, all their institutions 
had reference to some scriptural laws,* the language of their 
familiar and historical writings, was mostly quotations from 
the Bible ; their hopes, their fears, their prospects of vic- 
tory, or prognostications of defeat, all, were regulated by 
the impulse of imaginary inspiration. Under these im- 
pressions, their increase was extremely slow. Their reli- 
gious principles were so extraordinary and unsocial, that, 
at the end of ten years, these well-meaning people, when 
they became incorporated with their more powerful neigh- 
bours of Massachusetts Bay, did not exceed three hundred. 

Of the latter colony, it is now our intention to treat. Not- 
withstanding the persecutions, to, which religious dissenters, 
of every denomination, were still exposed in Britain, their 
zeal and number continued to augment ; and, as they des- 
paired of obtaining, in their own country, any relaxation 
of the penal laws against their sect, they hoped to find an 
asylum in New England. By the activity of Mr. White, 
a non-conformist minister at Dorchester, an association 
having been made to conduct a colony thither, they pur 
chased from the council of Plymouth, a territory, extending 
m length, from three miles north of Merrimack, to three 
miles south of Charles River ; and in breadth, from the At- 
lantic to the Pacific Ocean ; a boundary, then supposed to 
be not very far distant from the western shore. They found 



THE UNITED STATES. 



49 



no difficulty in procuring partners sufficient to attempt its 
occupation. But, as they entertained doubts concerning 
the propriety of founding a colony on the basis of a grant 
from a private company of patentees, who, though they 
might convey a right to the soil, could not authorize the 
formation of a government, they applied for the neces- 
sary powers to Charles the first ; who granted their request, 
with a facility that appears extraordinary, when we con- 
sider their principles and views. The charter which they 
obtained was similar to that given to the two Virginia 
companies, by James. They were formed into a corpora- 
tion, empowered to dispose of the lands, and govern the 
people who should settle on them; and, notwithstanding 
their migration to America, they and their descendants 
were to have all the rights of natural-born subjects. The 
first governor and his assistants were appointed by the 
crown: the right of electing their successors was vested in 
the corporation. Charles seems not to have foreseen, nor 
to have suspected, the secret intentions of those who pro- 
jected the measure. So far was he from encouraging emi- 
grants by any hope of religious indulgence, that he ex- 
pressly provided for having the oath, acknowledging his 
supremacy in the church, administered to every inhabitant 
of the colony. But, whatever were the intentions of the 
king, the adventurers kept their own object steadily in 
view. In the year 1629, they fitted out for New England 
five ships ; on board of which there embarked upwards of 
three hundred passengers ; amongst whom, were several 
eminent non-conforming ministers. On their arrival, they 
found the miserable remains of a small party, that had left 
England the preceding year, under the conduct of Mr. 
Endicott ; who, prior to their incorporation by royal char- 
ter, had been appointed deputy governor. They were set- 
tled at a place, called by the Indians, Naunekeag ; to which, 
he had given the Scripture-name of Salem. Immediately, 
the new colonists began the formation of their church ; 
without regarding the intentions of the king, but in accord 
ance with that system which has since been distinguished 
by the name of Independent. They elected, by the impo- 
sition of hands, a pastor, a teacher, and an elder; and all 
who were admitted members of the church, gave an account 
of the foundation of their own hope as Christians. They 
disencumbered their public worship of every superfluous 
ceremony, and reduced it to the lowest standard of Calvin 
istic simplicity. 
5 



50 



HISTORY OF 



Much as we respect that noble spirit, which enabled 
them to part w T ith their native soil ; by some, held dearer 
than friends, relatives, or children, and, by every generous 
bosom, preferred even to life itself; we must condemn the 
proceedings which ensued. In the first moment when they 
began to taste of Christian liberty themselves, they forgot 
that others had a right to the same enjoyment. Some of 
the colonists, who had not emigrated through motives of 
religion, retaining a high veneration for the ritual of the 
English church, refused to join the colonial state-establish- 
ment, and assembled separately to worship. But their ob- 
jections were not suffered to pass unnoticed, nor unpunish- 
ed. Endicott called before him the two principal offenders ; 
and, though they were men of respectability, and amongst 
the number of original patentees, he expelled them from 
the colony, and sent them home in the first ships returning 
to England. Had this inquisitorial usurpation been no fur- 
ther exercised, some apology, or at least, palliation, might 
be framed. More interesting and painful consequences, 
however, not long afterwards, resulted. The very men 
who had countenanced this violation of Christian duties, 
lived to see their ow r n descendants excluded from church 
communion ; to behold their grandchildren, the smiling in- 
fants at the breast, denied the sacred rite of baptism. 

As the intolerant disposition of archbishop Laud, in the 
parent country, exacted religious conformity with increas- 
ing rigour, the desire of emigration grew proportionally 
ardent ; and several who now felt indignant at those meas- 
ures, were persons of greater opulence, and of higher rank, 
than any who had hitherto settled in New England. By 
their influence, an important alteration w r as effected. The 
company consented that the government of the colony 
should be transferred to America,, and vested exclusively 
in those members w r ho should reside there. 

This transfer, though perhaps irregular, met no oppo- 
sition from the crown. In a general court, John Win- 
throp was appointed governor, and Thomas Dudley, depu- 
ty governor, with eighteen assistants ; to whom, and the 
body of freemen, w T ere intrusted all the corporate rights of 
the company. In the course of the ensuing year, fifteen 
hundred persons sailed for Massachusetts; amongst whom, 
were many distinguished families ; some in easy, several 
in affluent, circumstances. On their arrival a number 
were so dissatisfied with the situation of Salem, that they 



THE UNITED STATES. 



51 



ir «>n removed; and, settling in various places around the 
J bay, founded Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, Jlox* 
borough, and other towns, since become of considerable 
importance, Boston was named, through respect to Mr. 
Cotton, after a town in Lincolnshire, of which, before his 
arrival in New England, he had been minister. The ex- 
tension of these settlements was aided by the sudden de- 
crease of the natives. The small-pox, introduced by the 
English, had carried off the Indian race in so great multi- 
tudes, that whole tribes disappeared, and thus left vacant 
a country in which they might remain without disturbance. 

The first general court was held at Charlestown, on 
board the ship Arabella. In this meeting, they ventured to 
deviate from their charter, in a matter of great moment ; a 
deviation which strongly affected all the future operations 
of the colony. A law was passed, declaring that none 
should be admitted as freemen, or be entitled to any share 
in the government, or even to serve as jurymen, except 
those who had been received as members of the church ; 
by which measure, every person whose mind was not of a 
peculiar structure, or accidentally impressed with peculiar 
ideas, was at once cast out of society, and stripped of his 
civic rights. 

This fanatical spirit continued to increase. But the next 
transaction was more puerile than injurious ; rather a sub- 
ject of amusement, than a matter of alarm. A minister in 
Salem, named Roger Williams, having conceived an aver- 
sion to the cross of St. George, a symbol in the standard 
of England, declaimed against it with so much vehemence, 
as a relic of superstition and idolatry, which ought not to be 
retained amongst a people so sanctified and pure, that En- 
dicott, in a transport of zeal, cut out the cross from the en- 
sign displayed before the governor's gate. This frivolous 
matter interested and divided the colony. Some of the 
militia were now unwilling to follow a standard in which 
there was a cross, lest they should do honour to an idol ; 
others refused to serve under a mutilated banner, lest they 
should be suspected of having renounced their allegiance 
to the crown of England. The contest was at length ended 
by a compromise. The cross was retained in the ensigns 
of forts and vessels, but erased from the colours of the 
militia. 

The restless disposition of Williams had caused his ban- 
ishment from Salem a circumstance to which is owing 



52 



HISTORY OF 



1636 ^ e ^ onn ^' lon °f another state; for, so great, was 
the attachment of his hearers, that many accompa- 
nied him in his exile. They directed their march towards 
the south; and purchased from the natives a considerable 
tract of land, to which their leader gave the name of Provi- 
dence : and, two years afterwards, William Coddington, a 
wealthy merchant of Boston, having, with seventy-six 
others, been banished from Massachusetts, for favouring the 
religious doctrines of the celebrated Ann Hutchinson, and 
holding not less than eighty erroneous opinions, purchased, 
from the Indians, Aquetneck, a fertile island in Naraganset 
bay ; and named it Rhode Island, (after the island of 
Rhodes ;) under which title, the previous settlement, by 
Williams, is now included. Protection being afforded to 
the oppressed, their new settlement became, in a few years, 
so populous, as to send out colonists to the adjacent shores. 
After his removal, Mr. Coddington embraced the senti- 
ments of the Quakers, or Friends, and became the head of 
that society in the island. The first establishment was 
made at the north end, and named Portsmouth ; the next, 
on a fine harbour, at the south-east, which was called New- 
port ; a town that in a few years became the capital of the 
colony. They received a charter from the British parlia- 
ment, shortly after the commencement of the civil wars in 
the reign of Charles the first ; and a confirmation and en- 
largement of their constitutional powers from his successor. 
By this, it was ordered, that " none were ever to be molest- 
ed for any difference of opinion in religious matters :" yet, 
the very first assembly convened under this authority, ex- 
cluded Roman Catholics from voting at elections, and from 
every office in the government. 

To similar causes, the state of Connecticut is indebted 
for its origin. About one hundred persons, with their 
families, accompanied by Mr. Hooker, a favourite minister 
of Massachusetts, after a fatiguing march through woods 
and swamps, settled on the western side of the great river « 
Connecticut, and laid the foundation of Hartford, Spring- 
field, and Weathersfield ; the first of which is now the capi- 
tal. This settlement was attended with great irregularities. 
Part of the lands lay beyond the limits of the territory 
granted to the colony of Massachusetts Bay ; the authority 
from which the emigrants derived the power of jurisdiction. 
Two distinct claims were now made to the tract which they 
occupied ; one, by the Dutch, the other, by lord Say-and- 
Seal, and lord Brook. The former, then established at Man- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



53 



hattan, (called by them New Amsterdam, and, subsequent- 
ly, by the British, New York,) had discovered the Con- 
necticut river ; and the latter, the heads of two illustrious 
families in England, who were disgusted by the arbitrary 
measures of Charles the first, had taken possession, by 
building a fort ; which, from their united names, they called 
Say Brook. By degrees, however, the Massachusetts' ad- 
venturers were freed from both these competitors. The 
Dutch were themselves soon expelled from the adjoining 
district; the others assigned to the colony whatever title 
was derived from a first possession ; and, at a subsequent 
period, it was incorporated by royal charter. 

One of the most remarkable laws in the infancy of Con- 
necticut, was aimed against the use of tobacco. A similar 
denunciation was fulminated in Massachusetts. It enacted, 
that no person under the age of twenty, nor any other not 
already habituated to it, should use it, until he had brought 
a certificate from a physician, stating that it was necessary 
for his health, and had, in consequence, received a license 
from the court. Those who had already addicted them- 
selves to this obnoxious plant, were prohibited from using 
it in any company, at their labour, or on their travels, un- 
less they were at least ten miles from a house ; and, then 
only once a day, under a penalty of six-pence for each of- 
fence : of which, the constables were directed to give in- 
formation to the district court. The Connecticut settlers 
treated the Quakers with little less severity than their Mas- 
sachusetts brethren. For the fourth breach of the law 
framed against them, the offender was to be imprisoned, 
kept to hard labour, and his tongue bored through with a 
red-hot iron. 

The next province that demands attention, is New Hamp- 
shire. Under the authority of a grant from the council of 
New Plymouth, sir Ferdinando Gorges and captain John 
Mason, in conjunction with several merchants of London, 
Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, and Dover, at- 
tempted the establishment of a colony and fishery at the 
river Piscataqua. . For this purpose, in the spring of the 
year 1623, they sent over David Thompson, a Scot, Ed- 
ward and William Hilton, fishmongers of London, and a 
number of people, furnished with the requisite supplies. 
They were in two parties. One landed at a place which 
they called Little Harbour ; where they built a house, after- 
wards named Mason Hall. The other went farther, and 
settled at a place since called Dover. But the funds of 
5* 



54 



HISTORY OF 



this company were inadequate to the undertaking. Nor 
did the people, to whom they intrusted the establishment, 
possess that enthusiasm which animated their neighbours 
of Massachusetts with vigour to struggle through the hard- 
ships attending an infant colony. It is probable, therefore, 
that they must have abandoned their design, had not the 
same motives which caused the migrations into Rhode 
Island and Connecticut, assisted in the advancement of 
New Hampshire. Mr. Wheelright, a clergyman of some 
note, having, for his opposition to the church government, 
been banished from Massachusetts, took a route opposite 
to that of the other exiles, and founded the town of Exeter, 
on a small river that flows into Piscataqua Bay. For a 
long time, the parent colony claimed jurisdiction over New 
Hampshire ; and the first reduction of its constitution into 
a regular form, was subsequent to the English revolution. 

In the beginning of the eighteenth century, New Hamp- 
shire received considerable increase, by an emigration of 
above one hundred families from the north of Ireland ; 
chiefly Presbyterians of Derry, accompanied by their min- 
isters. These industrious people introduced the manufac- 
ture of linen, and excited much curiosity by their spinning- 
wheels : as the species which they brought over, being set 
in motion by the foot, was a novelty amongst the colonists. 
They also taught the cultivation of the potato ; a vegetable 
well known to have been carried to Ireland from Mexico, 
about the middle of the sixteenth century. 

The first attempt to colonize the District (now State) of 
Maine, was made in 1607, on the west side of the Kenne- 
bec, near the sea ; but no permanent settlement was then 
effected. In 1635, Gorges obtained a grant of this territo- 
ry, and in four years afterwards, a royal charter ; under the 
authority of which, he appointed ,a governor and council. 
Upon his death, the people unanimously combined, and 
formed a constitution, on a more liberal and extended basis 
by which, they were governed until 1652, when they sub- 
mitted to Massachusetts, which claimed the soil and juris- 
diction of the province, as far as the middle of Casco Bay ; 
and Maine took the name of Yorkshire; having liberty to 
send deputies to the general court of Boston. 

By extending their settlements, the English became ex- 
posed to serious danger. The Indians around Massachusetts 
Ba}<, being feeble and unwarlike,-and having received from 
the early settlers what they deemed an equivalent for their 
lands, gave no indications of hostility : but Providence and 



THE UNITED STATES. 



55 



Connecticut had to contend with nations more numerous 
and powerful. Among these, the most considerable were 
the Naragansets and the Pequods. The latter could bring 
into the field a thousand warriors ; not inferior, in disci- 
pline and courage, to any Indians in America. Foresee- 
ing that the extermination of their entire race must be 
the consequence of permitting Europeans to spread over 
the continent, they applied to the Naragansets ; request- 
ing them to forget their mutual animosities for a season, 
and co-operate in expelling a common enemy. But the 
latter, with a refinement in policy, similar to that which 
deluges with blood the numerous countries of the Christian 
world, perceived, in this, a favourable opportunity cl* weak- 
ening, if not of totally destroying, an ancient rival : instead, 
therefore, of acceding to this prudent offer, they discovered 
the hostile intention of their neighbours to the governor of 
Massachusetts, and entered into an alliance with the Eng- 
lish against them. 
jQgy More exasperated than discouraged by this treach- 
ery, the Pequods took the field, plundered and 
burned remote settlements, and attacked fort Say Brook ; 
from which, when driven off, they retired to places deemed 
inaccessible to an invading enemy. The troops of Con- 
necticut were soon assembled, and ready for the field : but 
the march of those from Massachusetts was retarded by 
the most singular cause that ever influenced the operations 
of a modern army ; reminding us of the superstitious Spar- 
tans, who, when solicited to join the Athenians in opposing 
the arms of Persia on the plains of Marathon, made answer, 
that it was an established law with them, not to begin a v 
march before the full moon. When mustered, it being 
found that some of the officers and many of the private 
soldiers were " under a covenant of works," it was declared, 
that a blessing could neither be implored nor expected tc 
accompany the arms of such unhallowed men. The alarm 
became general ; and many arrangements were necessary, 
to cast out the unclean, and render this little band sufficient- 
ly pure to fight the battles of a people who entertained so 
high ideas of their own sanctity and importance. 

Not waiting for their puerile allies, the Connecticut 
troops, with the Naragansets, commanded by captain Ma- 
son, advanced against the enemy; who had posted them, 
selves in the middle of a swamp, near the head of the river 
Mistic, and surrounded their camp with palisades. But they 
displayed more prudence in choosing their situation, than 



56 HISTORY OF 



in guarding it from surprise. Their assailants reached the 
paling unperceived, and if a dog had not given the alarm, 
the Indians must have been massacred while asleep. In 
a moment, the warriors were in arms, and, raising the war- 
cry, prepared to repel this formidable attack. Notwith- 
standing, however, that, like the defenders of the Roman 
capitol, they had been summoned by an instinctive guard- 
ian, they were not equally successful in overthrowing their 
invaders. A dreadful carnage ensued. Entering hastily 
by two winding passages, which had been left open, the 
English directed their guns towards the floors of the little 
huts, covered with their inhabitants asleep. Roused 
from their dreams by the unremitting discharges of mus- 
ketry, if they came forth, they rushed against the sur- 
rounding swords ; if they reached the palisades, and at- 
tempted to climb over, they were met by a shower of balls. 
Their crowded dwellings were soon in flames : many, afraid 
to venture out, remained in the devouring fire ; others, who 
had recoiled from the deadly weapons, rushed amidst the 
blaze, and shared their fate. In a few minutes, "five or 
six hundred lay gasping in their blood, or were silent in the 
arms of death." u The darkness of the forest," observes 
a New England author, " the blaze of the dwellings, the 
ghastly looks of the dead, the groans of the dying, the 
shrieks of the women and children, the yells of the friendly 
savages, presented a scene of sublimity and terror, inde- 
scribably dreadful." The spirit of extermination was not 
satiated here. The Massachusetts' troops, under captain 
Stoughton, at length arrived, and in a few months the Pe- 
quods ceased to be a nation. Their very name was heard 
no more. Those who had been taken alive were sold as 
slaves, abroad, or reduced to servitude at home. 
1643 ^ e dangers, to wn ich the New England colonies 
were exposed, from domestic and foreign enemies, 
induced them to form an alliance, for their defence. This 
confederation included all except Rhode Island, which 
Massachusetts was unwilling to admit ; and was regulated 
by stated assemblies, continued, with little alteration, until 
their charters were annulled by James the second. 

While the settlers were lessening the number of the an- 
cient inhabitants, they were daily receiving an addition to 
their own. Notwithstanding all the efforts of the British 
government, to check the tide of emigration, the measures 
of the crown were so hostile to the public rights, that, in 
the course of the vear 163^, about, three thousand persons 



THE UNITED STATES. 



81 



embarked for New England ; choosing rather to bear al] 
the consequences of a royal mandate, than remain longer 
under oppression. But, on the assumption of the supreme 
power by the parliament, those motives to emigrate entirely 
ceased. The Puritanical maxims, with respect to the gov- 
ernment of the church and state, became predominant in 
England, and were enforced by the hand of power. Up to 
this period, twenty-one thousand British subjects had set- 
tled in New England ; but the number of people with which 
it afterwards recruited the parent country, is supposed, to 
equal the amount previously received. Some returns also 
for the expenses incurred by its planters, were now made. 
They began to extend the fishery, and to export corn and 
lumber to the West Indies. At length, a decided indication 
of increasing importance was displayed. In the year 1652, 
the general court of Massachusetts ordered a coinage of 
silver money at Boston, stamped with the name of the 
colony, and with a tree, as an appropriate symbol of pro- 
gressive vigour. No other colony ever presumed to coin 
money. But the royal government in England was recent- 
ly overthrown. The mint-master, John Hull, made a large 
fortune. It was commonly reported, that he gave his 
daughter a marriage portion of thirty thousand New Eng- 
land shillings. 

Although these children of the forest thus approached 
the condition of their parent, in the external relations of 
society — in wealth, in commerce, in population — they seem- 
ed to make an opposite movement in rectitude of judg- 
ment : the absence of which produced bigotry, superstition, 
intolerance, and cruelty. That persecuting spirit, which* 
consigned its victims to the flames, having spent its rage 
in almost every European nation, and been, in England, 
long since exhausted, or restrained by a superior power, 
now burst forth from those bosoms which had indignantly 
recoiled from its effects. We here allude to the treat- 
1656 men ^ °^ tne Quakers. A number of these people, 
having arrived from England and Barbadoes, and 
given offence to the clergy of the established church, by 
the novelty of their religion, at that time, certainly a little 
extravagant, were imprisoned, and, by the first opportunity, 
sent away. A law was then made, which prohibited mas- 
ters of ships from bringing any Quakers into Massachu 
setts, and themselves from coming there ; under a graduated 
penalty, rising, in case of a return from banishment, as 



r>8 



HISTORY OF 



high as death. In consequence of this barbarous proscrip- 
tion, several were hanged ; a mode of punishment not 
adopted on account of its being more ignominious than 
that of burning, practised in Europe, but perhaps to avoid 
a too strict conformity with the usage of their ancient ene- 
mies. # These proceedings are still the more reprehensi- 
ble and remarkable, when contrasted with a previous de- 
claration of their government, which tendered " hospitality 
and succour to all Christian strangers, flying from wars, 
famine, or the tyranny of persecution." 

But this sanguinary conduct was soon prohibited, by an 
order from Charles the second. During its continuance, 
the number of Quakers in Massachusetts increased, instead 
of being diminished. The pillory served, there, as a pulpit 
for the celebrated George Fox, the founder of the sect. 

The Anabaptists were the next object of persecution. 
Many of them were disfranchised, and some were banished. 
But, as oppression again created what it was intended to 
destroy, the court judged it expedient to withdraw it, and 
persecution for a while ceased. 

Why, it may be asked, are these early scenes of folly re- 
coloured, and exhibited on the stage of history, in this re- 
mote age 1 Are they meant to calumniate the fathers of 
our people, and augment the inclination towards religious 
intolerance ; to wound the feelings of our youth, and create, 
anew, the malignant spirit of recrimination ? No, it is an- 
swered ; they are to guard against a repetition ; by reminding 
society, that the same causes will produce similar effects, 
in every nation, and in every age ; and that the same as- 
cendency over the civil authorities, which then prevailed, 
might plunge us, even at this enlightened period, into that 
unhappy state, now contemplated with so much regret. — 
A great American statesman and -profound philosopher, in 
acknowledging the receipt of a discourse on the consecration 



* The following Quakers were hanged, for returning after banish- 
ment : William Robinson, and Marmaduke Stephenson, on the 27th of 
October, 1656; William Ledlea, on the 14th of March, 1660; Mary 
Dyer, on the 1st of June. 

Toleration was preached against, as a sin in rulers, that would bring 
down the judgment of Heaven upon the land. Mr. Dudley died with a 
copy of verses in his pocket, of which the two following lines make a 
Bart 

** Let men of God, in court and churches, watch, 
O'er such as do a toleration hatch." 



THE UNITED STATES. 



59 



of a synagogue, expresses himself in these words : " Your 
sect, by its sufferings, has furnished a remarkable proof of 
the universal spirit of religious intolerance, inherent in 
every sect ; disclaimed by all while feeble, and practised 
by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only an 
tidote to this vice ; protecting our religious, as they do oui 
civil, rights, by placing all on an equal footing. But, more 
remains to be done ; for, though we are free by the law, w T e 
are not so in practice : public opinion erects itself into an 
inquisition, and exercises its office with as much fanaticism 
as fans the flames of an auto da feP* 

On the accession of James the second, several of the 
New England colonies were deprived of their charters ; 
which, how T ever, with various modifications, were restored 
after the ensuing revolution. But, that was not the only 
evil arising from the contests of this period. France, be- 
ing engaged in war with the parent state, thought the op- 
portunity favourable for disturbing her American domin- 
ions : and, from the contiguity of Canada, where the former 
was then established, was enabled to keep the northern 
provinces in continual alarm. Vigorous exertions were 
made to carry hostilities into the colony of the aggressor. 
The command was given to sir William Phipps, a distin- 
guished character of those days, and the first governor ap- 
pointed under the new charter. His earliest object was the 
conquest of L'Acadie, now called Nova Scotia. Having 
sailed from New England with a force of seven hundred 
men, he arrived at Port Royal, and took possession of the 
entire province for Great Britain. But his next attempt 
was wholly unsuccessful. Proceeding with a much larger 
equipment, and arriving before Quebec, the winter was so 
far advanced, that the troops from Connecticut and New- 
York returned, after they had reached the lakes : and his 
own troops being sickly and discouraged, he relinquished 
his intentions ; sailing again to Boston, with the loss of one 
thousand men. 

The new charter, while it curtailed the liberties, extend- 
ed the territory, of Massachusetts. To it, were now annex- 
ed, New Plymouth, Maine, and Nova Scotia, with all the 
country between the two latter and the river St. Lawrence : 
also Elizabeth Islands, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard. 
The people, however, had reason to complain : they no 



* Mr. Jefferson's letters to Mr. Noah, of New- York, dated Monticello, 
May 28, 1818. 



60 



HISTORY OF 



longer chose their governor, secretary, nor officers of the 
admiralty : the militia was placed under the control of the 
governor, and the same officer levied taxes and tried capi- 
tal offenders. Against these innovations, however, an ad- 
mirable spirit was evinced, in the very first act passed un- 
der the new constitution. It was resolved, that no loan or 
imposition of any kind, should be raised in the colony, un- 
less with the approbation of the council and the represent- 
atives of the people, assembled in general court. 

" Sir William Phipps," observes a New England histo- 
rian, " found the province in a most deplorable situation. 
An Indian war was wasting the frontiers ; an agitation, a 
terror in the public mind, in the greater part of Essex coun- 
ty, was driving the people to the most desperate conduct. 
In the tempest of passion, a government of laws, trial by 
jury, all the guards against oppression, were too feeble to 
protect the person or property of the most loyal subject. 
The pillars of society were shaken to their foundation, by 
the amazing powers of imaginary witchcraft. The people 
of that county had lived amongst the Indians ; they had 
heard their narratives of Hobbamocko, or the Devil ; of his 
frequent appearances to them, of his conversations with 
them, and of his sometimes carrying them off. These were 
the familiar tales of their winter evenings ; which confirm- 
ed their opinions, laid the basis of superstition, and furnish- 
ed materials for approaching terrors. The circumstances 
attending the first strange accounts, were most unfortunate, 
and powerfully tended to give them currency. They appear- 
ed in the family of their minister : he was credulous ; this 
excited belief in others. An Indian and his wife were in 
the house : they were supposed adepts in the science of 
witchcraft ; their opinions were important : to complete the 
misery, the physician joined his suffrage ; the evidence now 
in the public mind was conclusive. It is no wonder, that 
the alarm was sudden and terrible. Children, not twelve 
years old, were allowed to give their testimony. Indians 
related their own personal knowledge of invisible beings, 
and women told their frights. The testimonies then re- 
ceived, would now be considered a burlesque on judicial 
proceedings. One circumstance, however, deserves to be 
noticed. The persons accused had generally, if not uni- 
versally, done some singular or forbidden action ; were 
mostly in the lower walks of life, and their misfortunes or 
accidents, of thirty years standing, were now arrayed as fa- 
tal charges against them. The frenzy was greatest from 



THE UNITED STATES. 



61 



March to October, 1692. In the beginning of this period 
of delirium, fasts were held at the ministers' houses ; after- 
wards, in several congregations in the infected neighbour- 
hood ; and, finally, the general court appointed a fast 
throughout the colony." 

A very learned pastor of New England, Cotton Mather, 
was a firm believer in all those ridiculous stories. He re- 
lates, with a degree of seriousness, that is now amusing, as 
many supernatural events, as would fill a volume ; prefac 
ing his ghostly narrative with a regret, that " the neigh- 
bours have not been careful enough to record and attest 
the prodigious occurrences of this importance, and that 
many true and strange occurrences from the invisible world, 
have been buried in oblivion." He first mentions a woman 
afflicted by a devil, that spoke Dutch ; after which, he pro- 
ceeds to a more entertaining narrative, which is here given 
in his own words. — " In the year 1679, the house of Wil- 
liam Morse, at Newberry, was infested with demons, after 
a most horrid manner, It would fill many pages, to relate 
all the infestations ; but the chief of them were such as 
these : — Bricks, sticks, and stones, were often, by some in- 
visible hand, thrown at the house, and so were many pieces 
of wood : a cat was thrown at the woman of the house, and 
a long staff danced up and down in the chimney ; and af- 
terwards the same long staff was hanged by a line, and 
swung to and fro ; and, when two persons laid it on the fire, 
to burn it, it was as much as they were able to do, with 
their joint strength, to hold it there. An iron crook was 
violently, by an invisible hand, hurled about ; and a chair 
flew about the room, until, at last, it lit upon the table, 
where the meat stood ready to be eaten ; and had spoiled 
all, if the people had not, with much ado, saved a little. A 
chest was, by an invisible hand, carried from one place to 
another, and the doors barricadoed, and the keys of the fam- 
ily taken r some of them from the bunch where they were 
tied, and the rest flying about, with a loud noise of their 
knocking against one another. For, one while, the folks 
of the house could not sup quietly, but ashes would be 
thrown into their suppers, and on their heads, and their 
clothes, and the shoes of the man being left below, one of 
them was filled with ashes and coals, and thrown up after 
him. When they were in bed, a stone, weighing thiee 
pounds, was, divers times, thrown upon them. A box and 
a board were likewise thrown upon them ; and a v ag of 
hops being taken out of a chest, they were, by the invisible 
6 



62 



HISTORY OF 



hand, beaten therewith, till some of the hops were scattered 
on the floor, where the bag was then laid and left. The 
man was often struck by that hand with several instru- 
ments : and the same hand cast their good things into the 
fire : yea, while the man was at prayer with his household, 
a besom gave him a blow on his head behind, and fell down 
before his face. When they were winnowing their barley, 
dirt was thrown at them ; and assaying to fill their half- 
bushel with corn, the foul corn would be thrown in with 
the clean, so irresistibly, that they were forced thereby to 
give over what they were about. 

" While the man was writing, his ink-horn was, by the 
invisible hand, snatched from him, and being able nowhere 
to find it, he saw it drop out of the air, down by the fire. 
A shoe was laid on his shoulder, but when he would have 
caught it, it was rapt from him: it was then clapped upon 
his head, and there he held it so fast, that the unseen fury 
pulled him with it backward on the floor. He had his cap 
torn off his head, and was pulled by the hair, and pinched, 
and scratched, and the invisible hand pricked him with 
some of his awls, and with needles, and bodkins; and blows, 
that fetched blood, were sometimes given him. Frozen 
clods were often thrown at the man ; and his wife going to 
milk the cows, they could by no means preserve the ves- 
sels of milk from the like annoyances, which made it fit 
only for the hogs. 

"She, going down into the cellar, the trap-door was im- 
mediately, by an invisible hand, shut upon her, and a table 
brought and laid upon the door, which kept her there till 
the man removed it. When he was writing, at another 
time, a dish leapt into a pail, and cast water on the man, 
and on all the concerns before him, so as to defeat what he 
was then upon. His cap jumped off his head, and on again, 
and the pot-lid went off the pot into the kettle, then over 
the fire together. A little boy belonging to the family was 
a principal sufferer by these molestations ; for, he was flung 
about at such a rate, that they feared his brains would have 
been beaten out : nor did they find it possible to hold him. 
The man took him, to keep him in a chair ; but the chair 
fell a dancing, and both of them were very near being 
thrown into the fire. 

" These, and a thousand such vexations befalling the boy 
at home, they carried him to live abroad at a doctor's. 
There, he was quiet ; but, returning home, he suddenly 
cried out ' he was pricked on the back where they found 



THE UNITED STATES. 



63 



strangely sticking, a three-tined fork, which belonged unto 
the doctor, and had been seen at his house after the boy's 
departure. Afterwards, his troubles found him out at the 
doctor's also ; where, crying again 4 he was pricked on the 
back,' they found an iron spindle stuck into him ; and the 
spectre would make all his meat, when he was going to eat, 
fly out of his mouth ; and instead thereof make him fall to 
eating ashes, sticks, and yarn." 

Twenty persons, men and women, having been executed, 
the supposed sufferers, by their alleged enchantments, be- 
came more daring, and accused some of the best people in 
the country. Suspicion was now aroused ; condemnation 
ceased ; the accusers were silent ; those under sentence were 
reprieved, and afterwards pardoned. 

Seldom, does the historic page offer to the biographer a 
character more strongly marked, than that of Phipps ; of 
whose life, a cursory sketch may be found both instructive 
and entertaining. He was born at a small plantation on the 
river Kennebeck ; his father was a gun-smith, formerly of 
Bristol, in England. His mother had twenty-six children 
twenty-one of whom were sons. William, one of the young- 
est, remained with her when a widow, tending sheep, until 
arrived at the age of eighteen. Actuated now by a power- 
ful impulse, he conceived that he was born to fill a more 
important part in the drama of human life, resisted the de- 
sire of his friends that he would become a planter, and, as 
the first step towards attainining his imagined elevation, 
bound himself apprentice to a ship-carpenter. In this pro- 
fession, he shortly became an adept. Having removed to 
Boston, he there followed his trade for about a year, and, by 
his good conduct, obtained in marriage the daughter of cap- 
tain Spencer, a respectable citizen. Notwithstanding a 
severe disappointment and loss which soon afterwards befel 
him, he was still buoyed up by his early expectation of ad- 
vancement : he frequently told his wife, that he should yet 
be captain of a king's ship, and have the command of bet- 
ter men than he accounted himself. But he did not vainly 
imagine, that riches would reward him in indolence or that 
honours would pursue him in retirement. He felt that he 
possessed the vigour to attain what his ambition so eagerly 
desired ; and that his prophecies might be fulfilled, by wis- 
dom and prudence in the design, and patience and diligence 
in the pursuit. Upon hearing of a Spanish wreck at the 
Bahama islands, he made a voyage thither, to search for 
treasure ; but with no greater success than just enabled him 



64 



HISTORY OF 



to visit England. His object in this, was to procure the 
means of examining another, and far richer, Spanish wreck; 
and, so forcible were his representations to the government, 
that, in 1683, he was appointed "captain of a king's shi-p," 
as he had prognosticated ; in which vessel, a frigate of 
eighteen guns, this enterprising American arrived in his 
native country. 

Many years were spent in fruitless endeavours to ascer 
tain the position of the wreck ; many dangers surmounted, 
with a degree of patience and presence of mind, fortitude 
and courage, scarcely surpassed by any hero, either of an- 
cient or modern times. A few examples will be sufficient 
to establish the justice of our remarks. His men, wearied 
by their ineffectual endeavours, having mutinied, approach- 
ed him on the quarter-deck, with drawn swords, and re- 
quired that he should join them in running away with the 
ship, for the purpose of carrying on the trade of piracy in 
the Southern ocean. But their brave commander was 
neither intimidated by their number, nor alarmed by their 
ferocity. Unarmed, unaided, unprepared, he rushed with 
heroic boldness upon the crowd, and, by the mere vigour 
of his blows, defeated his antagonists, and compelled them 
to their duty. At another time, whilst his frigate lay ca- 
reening in a desolate island, by the side of a rock, from which 
was laid a plank reaching to the shore, his men, of whom 
he had about one hundred, went all, except eight or ten, to 
amuse themselves, as they pretended, in the woods. Here, 
another conspiracy was formed. They determined, that in 
the evening they would seize their captain and the few 
faithful seamen who had remained on board, leave them to 
perish on the island, and sail with the ship, to perpetrate 
the robberies which they had planned before. Informed 
of their intentions, and assured of Jthe fidelity of the others, 
he prepared immediately to guard his vessel against sur- 
prise, and reduce the mutineers to obedience. Owing to 
the inclined posture of the frigate, all the provisions had 
been, through necessity, carried on shore ; where they were 
placed in a tent, and secured by cannon from the possibili- 
ty of an attack by the Spaniards. These, he silently or- 
dered to be unloaded, and turned towards the interior; 
then, pulling up the bridge, he brought his own guns to 
bear on every part of the tent, and signified his intention of 
abandoning his atrocious crew to the fate which they had 
prepared for him. Terrified now by the apprehension of 
immediate destruction from the guns, or, at the less instant- 



THE UNITED STATES. 65 



aneous, though more dreadful death, from the want of 
food, they quickly brought the stores on board ; and, hav- 
ing, on their knees, with eager supplications, displayed that 
cowardice which is the prominent feature of the assassin, 
they submitted to his orders. But Phipps would no longer 
intrust his person, nor seek to accomplish his design, with 
such a crew. He sailed to Jamaica, and discharged them. 
When arrived at Hispaniola, and informed, by a very old 
man, that the object of his desire was certainly upon a reef 
of shoals a few leagues from Port de la Plata, he sailed 
again for England ; where, by the aid of the duke of Albe- 
marle, and other persons of distinction, who became part- 
ners in his adventure, he prepared the necessary imple- 
ments, and, with the most sanguine hopes, departed for the 
wreck. His perseverance was at length rewarded by suc- 
cess : an Indian diver led him to the long-lost treasure. 
Besides a large quantity of silver, brought up by a person 
named Adderly, of Providence, our hero recovered thirty- 
two tons ; which, with some gold and jewels, amounted to 
three hundred thousand pounds sterling. So generous, 
however, was he to his men, and so faithful to his partners, 
that only sixteen thousand were left to himself. But he 
received marks of distinction from his sovereign, which, to 
his noble mind, were more valuable than riches. He was 
honoured, then, with the title of knighthood ; and, for his 
general deportment, afterwards appointed to those stations 
in which we have already observed him, — commander-in- 
chief and governor of the colony. 

His family has since been ennobled by the king of Eng 
land. Captain Phipps, a distinguished British navigator, is 
descended from the persevering American ; and now bears 
the title of lord Mulgrave. 

In the years 1627 and '38, '63, and '70, New England 
experienced violent earthquakes ; which produced serious 
alarm, but no real injury, to the inhabitants. In 1638, 
Harvard college, near Boston, the oldest seminary of learn- 
ing in the United States, was founded. Two years before, 
the general court having voted four hundred pounds for the 
establishment of a public school, at Newtown, that sum 
was more than doubled by a bequest from Mr. John Har- 
vard, a highly esteemed minister of Charlestown : who, in 
his will, left to the infant seminary half his entire estate. 
Thus endowed, the school was formed into a college ; re- 
ceiving, in memory of its benefactor, the name of Harvard; 
and Newtown, through respect to the university in England^ 
6* 



66 



HISTORY OF 



where many of the original emigrants had been educated, 
was called Cambridge. The first Commencement was 
held two years afterwards ; when nine students were hon- 
oured with the degree of bachelor of arts. The first mas- 
ter of the college, was Nathaniel Eaton ; a good scholar, 
but without the other requisites for the instruction and 
government of youth. He was displaced for avarice, in 
withholding necessary commons ; and for cruelty, in beating 
his usher with a cudgel, while two of his servants held him 
by the legs and arms. 

Some years from that period, a building was erected there 
for an Indian college ; into which, several natives entered : 
but only one attained academical honours, before death, and 
other events, disorganized an institution so truly benevolent. 
But the generous designs entertained towards the improve- 
ment of that people, did not rest here. As a further com- 
pensation for the injury suffered by them, from the en- 
croachment on their lands, and consequent diminution of 
the means of supporting life, Mr. Eliot, a pious clergyman 
of Roxbury, translated the Bible into their own language, 
and had it printed at the expense of a society established for 
the spreading of the Christian religion. Besides, he com- 
posed for them a primer, a grammar, and a book of psalms, 
with several other useful works; and was the means of 
opening schools in the Indian settlements, where the chil- 
dren were instructed, not only in their own language, but in 
the English, Greek, and Latin. Judicial courts were es- 
tablished amongst them, on the same principles as the 
county courts of the colony ; in which, one English lawyer 
was united with the judges appointed by the natives. 

But, let us inquire, what were the fruits of those institu- 
tions, so liberally gifted, and planned with wisdom apparent- 
ly so profound? Have the seeds, * thus industriously sown, 
and assiduously cherished, yielded a harvest commensurate 
with the care devoted to their culture ? Or, have they 
perished in a barren soil? Has the mode of cultivation 
been erroneous, the atmosphere injurious to increasing 
vigour? The soil, w r e believe, was generous: but there 
was a want of skill in the labourer ; a destructive tendency 
in the climate. The Indian was overwhelmed with a mul- 
titude of doctrines, not less mysterious to the teacher, than 
incomprehensible to the pupil. The conduct of his patrons, 
towards their own brethren, offered an example at variance 
With their precepts ; rendering him indifferent to their oro- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



6? 



tection, and careless of a religion, that had not subdued in 
themselves those passions which they now sought to re- 
strain in others. Would he not exclaim, as did the simple 
Mexican, " Are any of these people in that Heaven to which 
we are invited 1 If there are, we desire not to follow !" 
Nor could he, though Virtue herself were to tender him 
salvation through a distorted creed, of which more than 
eighty opinions had been rejected by a Christian, receive 
it with sincerity : he might profess it for a season ; but he 
would repay the labour of his ephemeral conversion in the 
accustomed deceptions of hypocrisy. 

The third provincial seminary of letters, was established 
at New Haven, in Connecticut, in 1701 ; ten years after that 
of William and Mary in Virginia. It was called Yale col- 
lege, in honour of one of its principal benefactors ; and in- 
tended chiefly for training up young men to the duties of the 
church. Dartmouth college, also, situated at Hanover, in 
New Hampshire, is a respectable institution. It was found- 
ed in 1769, and named after the earl of Dartmouth, one of 
its most liberal promoters. 

. The first printing press established in the British colo- 
nies, was in 1639, at Cambridge, superintended by Stephen 
Daye ; but erected chiefly at the expense of Mr. Glover, an 
English clergyman, who died on his passage to America. 

The first newspaper printed in the British colonies, was 
the Boston News Letter; in 1704. It was printed weekly, 
by Nathaniel Greene, for the proprietor, John Campbell, 
postmaster of Boston. No other paper was required, until 
1719, a period of fifteen years; when William Brooker, 
then at the head of the post-office, published the Boston 
Gazette, and employed, as printer, James Franklin ; an 
elder brother of the celebrated Benjamin Franklin. In 1721, 
James began the publication of another journal, the New 
England Courant. Its patrons formed themselves into a 
club, and furnished it with short, original essays, in imita- 
tion of the Spectator ; which soon brought the Courant in- 
to notice. It was warmly opposed by the rigid puritans; 
while it was, with equal ardour, supported by men of more 
liberal opinions. But the press was then, as it had been 
during more than fifty years, in Massachusetts, under a 
rigorous censorship. Nothing could, with impunity, be 
published, unless pleasing to the colonial government. 
Franklin was soon imprisoned, and ordered to discontinue 
his paper, unless he would submit it to a previous super- 
vision : but, not inclining to yield submission, he conducted 



68 



HISTORY OF 



it, for some years, in the name of Benjamin ; who had been 
one of its ablest contributors. 

In about seventeen years after the first emigration to 
New England, negroes were imported there, as a regular 
branch of traffic with the West Indies. The number 
brought into the northern colonies, w r as small, in compari- 
son w r ith that into the southern ; a circumstance which we 
may attribute to the difference of climate : as, it appears 
probable, that the same people who assented to the principles 
of a trade, would have felt no repugnance to its extension, 
had it been demanded by their immediate interest. It is 
only just, however, in reflecting on this conduct of the early 
settlers, to make a large allowance, in extenuation of that 
practice. The rights of man, as regarded either his civil 
or religious liberty, were not, in those days, fully under- 
stood : nor the mental faculties of the sable African proper- 
ly examined and acknowledged. 



CHAPTER V. 

Settlement of Maryland ; of North and South Carolina ; 
New-York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and 
Georgia. 

Maryland was founded by sir George Calvert, baron 
of Baltimore in Ireland ; a Roman Catholic nobleman, born 
in England. Inclined to form a settlement in America, as 
an asylum for himself and his friends, he came over to Vir- 
ginia ; but, meeting an unwelcome reception on account of 
his religion, and observing that the inhabitants had not ex- 
tended their plantations beyond the Potomac, he fixed his 
attention on lands northward of this river, and when he re- 
turned to England, obtained a grant of them from Charles 
the first. But he did not survive the completion of the 
patent. After his death, however, it was given to his eldest 
son, Cecilius ; who succeeded to his titles ; the country 
being called Maryland, in compliment to the queen, Hen- 
rietta Maria. 

The religious toleration established by that charter, the 
first draft of which was written, it is said, by sir George 



THE UNITED STATES. 



himself, is highly honourable to his memory, and was strict- 
ly respected by his son. 

Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, was the 
brother of Cecilius ; who sent him to America at the head 
of the colony in 1633. Having sailed up the Potomac, he 
anchored near an island, which he named St. Clements ; and 
there took formal possession of the country, in the name of 
his sovereign. Thence, he went fifteen leagues higher, to an 
Indian town on the Virginia side of the river, now called 
New Marlborough ; where he was received in a friendly 
manner by the natives. He next sailed to Piscataway, on 
the Maryland shore, and had an interview with the chief- 
tain. " Are you willing," said that lover of justice, " that a 
settlement should be made in your country V — " I will not 
bid you go," replied the chief, " neither will I bid you stay : 
you may use your own discretion." — This, however, was 
not thought a sufficient warrant for remaining. He visited 
a creek on the northern side of the river, about four miles 
from its mouth, where was an Indian village ; which he 
purchased from the natives, called it St. Mary's, and the 
creek St. George's, and granted to each emigrant fifty acres 
of land/ In 1694, the town of Severn, w T as made a port 
of trade, and received the name of Annapolis ; and, five 
years afterwards, the legislature removed thither, from St. 
Mary's ; since which time, Annapolis has been the seat of 
government. 

While Virginia harassed all who dissented from the Eng- 
lish church, and the northern colonies all who dissented 
from the Puritan, the Roman Catholics of Maryland, a sect, 
who, in the old world, never even professed the doctrine of 
toleration, received and protected their Christian brethren 
of every church, and its population rapidly increased. But 
this enlightened spirit was, in the course of time, controlled. 
In the beginning of the eighteenth century, power, in this 
province, fell into other hands, and laws were enacted 
equally severe with those of Virginia and New England 
against the profession of any religious sentiments not ac 
cording with the principal tenets of the Church of England 

The next province that claims our attention, is North 
Carolina. Though, by the unhappy termination of the 
colony of Roanoke, and the subsequent deviation which 
caused the discovery of the Chesapeake, this lost the honour 
of being the earliest state ; yet the Union is indebted to those 
events for a more propitious commencement, and a more 
rapid approximation to maturity and strength. Of all the 



70 



HISTORY OF 



colonial family, none, we believe, is less gifted than North 
Carolina with the means of supporting a numerous off- 
spring. A generous soil, a wide diffusion of navigable 
streams, a salubrious air; every thing which ministers to 
the wealth, or to the happiness, of man ; seem here denied. 

About the middle of the seventeenth century, some emi- 
grants, chiefly from Virginia, began a settlement in the 
county of Albemarle : and soon afterwards, another es- 
tablishment was made at Cape Fear, by adventurers from 
Massachusetts ; who obtained a transfer of the lands from 
the ancient owners of the soil. They were held together 
by the laws of nature, without any written code, without 
the least degree of constitutional restraint. Bat they did 
not long remain in this extraordinary situation. The coun- 
try being claimed by England, was made subservient to the 
interest of the ruling monarch. Charles the second grant- 
ed to lord Clarendon and others, the whole tract lying be- 
tween the thirty-first and thirty-sixth degrees of north lati- 
tude, and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. 
The proprietors, anxious to hasten the improvement of 
their extensive regions, offered every inducement to immi- 
gration. They established a free government, a perfect 
freedom in religion, and, for the first five years, offered 
certain portions of land at one halfpenny per acre. 

The settlers in Albemarle were placed under the super- 
intendence of sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia ; 
who, having repaired thither, after appointing civil officers, 
and directing the calling of a general assembly, assigned 
his authority to Mr. Drummond. 

In 1671, the proprietors extended their settlements to 
the banks of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, where Charles- 
ton now stands ; and, in 1729, having, for a sum of money, 
surrendered to the crown their interest in the soil, the col- 
ony was divided into North and South Carolina, and a royal 
governor appointed over each. 

The exports of the latter colony, during the first twenty- 
five years, were lumber, peltry, and naval stores. In 1700, 
me growth of cotton was introduced. Two years after- 
wards, governor Landgrave Smith received a small bag of 
rice out of a vessel from Madagascar; wfiich, being dis- 
tributed amongst the planters, for seed, this highly nutritive 
grain became the prominent staple : and, about the year 
1748, there was added indigo ; the manufacture of which 
was taught by Miss Lucas. In the character of these two 
productions of Carolina, there is a wide dissimilarity ; the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



71 



rice being as remarkable for the excellence, as the indigo is 
for the inferiority, of its quality. The indigo, as well as the 
sumac plant, grows spontaneously, not only in this state, but 
in almost every part of the American continent : the col- 
lecting of the sumac, however, for a foreign market, seems 
confined to a trifling attention in some of the New England 
states ; though the consumption in Europe, of this indis- 
pensable article in dying, is very large, chiefly of Sicilian 
growth. 

New- York was first settled by the Dutch ; by whom, it 
was held for half a century. They founded their claim on 
prior discovery, by Henry Hudson, a celebrated English 
navigator, employed by them, in 1609, and on subsequent 
actual occupation. The English, however, claimed the same 
country, from its having been first visited by Cabot, above 
a century before ; and because Hudson, under a commission 
from the king of England, had, as early as the year 1608, 
discovered Long Island, and Manhattan, the site of the 
town of New-York, with the river which now bears his 
name. It is of small importance, at the present day, to 
inquire whose title was the best. Neither had a just claim 
upon the property of the native possessors: but, if we be 
guided by the arbitrary rule of the European powers, in mat- 
ters of this kind, the dominion must be awarded to Great 
Britain. 

Peter Stuyvesant, the third and last Dutch governor of 
this colony, began his administration in 1647. Assailed by 
New England, on the one hand, and by a Swedish colony 
and Maryland, on the other, this active officer was inces- 
santly employed. He was distinguished as much for his 
fidelity, as for his vigilance. He earnestly stated to his em- 
ployers, the West India Company of Holland, the embar- 
rassments which he experienced ; and the probability of an 
attack from England : but his representations were un- 
availing. Meanwhile, a war having commenced between 
Great Britain and the commonwealth, Charles the second 
assigned to his brother, the duke of York, all the territory 
now called New-York and New Jersey, together with a part 
of Connecticut, and of what has since received the names 
of Pennsylvania and Delaware ; and privately despatched 
Iqq^ an armament to take possession of the colony. Stuy 
vesant was a brave officer ; but, not being supported 
in his defence by the magistrates, was, with much reluct- 
ance, constrained to surrender. In the following month, 
Fort Orange, on Hudson River, capitulated, and received 



72 



HISTORY OF 



the name o* Albany, after the second title of the duke. 
The British arms were equally successful against both the 
Dutch and Swedes in the south ; so that the whole of Nova 
Belgia was thus subjected to the English crown. 

Few, however, of the inhabitants were removed. Govern- 
or Stuyvesant retained his estate, and died in the colony. 
His posterity still survive, and hold a respectable rank 
among the citizens of the United States. The government 
was administered, for several years, by colonel Nichols, the 
officer intrusted with its reduction ; and, after him, by colo- 
nel Lovelace ; under whom, the people lived very happily, 
until, in 167*3, his powers were annulled by the re-surren- 
der of the colony ; an event caused by the treachery of one 
Manning, who had the command of the principal fort. But 
the Dutch enjoyed their ancient possession only for a short 
period ; in the following year, a treaty of peace restored it 
to the English. 

Being a conquered country, it was governed by the duke's 
officers, until the year 1688 : when representatives of the 
people were allowed a voice in the legislature. Amongst 
the governors, we perceive the name of Burnet ; who pre- 
sided from 1720 until 1728 : a man not more remarkable on 
account of his being a son of the celebrated prelate who 
wrote the history of the Reformation, than for his admira- 
ble talents and correct deportment. He was easy and fa 
miliar in his manners, and universally esteemed by men of 
letters. 

The duke of York sold that part of his grant now called 
New Jersey, to lord Berkeley and sir George Carteret. It 
had previously been settled by Hollanders and Swedes, with 
a small intermixture of emigrants from Denmark : all of 
whom remained there, and became English subjects. The 
county of Bergen was the first inhabited. Here, was erect- 
ed a small town, of the same name, in which the settlers 
resided ; having their plantations at a distance. Very soon, 
there were four other towns in the province ; Elizabeth, 
Newark, Middleton, and Shrewsbury ; which, and the ad- 
jacent country, in a few years received a large accession of 
inhabitants,* from Scotland, England, and the neighbouring 
colonies 

Though, in reviewing the formation of the new govern- 
ment in Jersey, we perceive no striking features to excite 
a lively interest in its history, such as are in general the 
chief materials for inquiry ; yet we feel the highest degree 
of pleasure when contemplating one particular trait — that 



THE UNITED STATES. 



73 



no violence was committed on the unoffending natives. In 
allotting lands to the settlers, Mr. Carteret, the first gov- 
ernor, invariably obliged them to satisfy the Indians. The 
result of so equitable an order, was not less favourable than 
merited. They became good neighbours ; thereby allowing 
the colonists to direct their whole attention to the arts of 
peace. Carteret fixed his residence at Elizabethtown ; which 
thus became the earliest capital of the province : but the 
present seat of government is Trenton. 

To dwell on the successive changes which occurred in 
the proprietorship , its division into East and West Jersey, 
its mode of government, or the names of its several govern- 
ors, would be not only tedious, but unessential. Amongst 
the latter, however, it may be proper to mention the cele- 
brated Barclay, author of the Apology for the Quakers : of 
which sect, a large number had established themselves 
there ; setting their accustomed example of good order and 
industry. 

A college, originally commenced at Newark, was, in the 
year 1748, finally established at Princeton. Its chief bene- 
factor was governor Belcher ; to whom, an offer was made 
of associating his name with the institution : but the honour 
was declined. This seminary is indebted for its origin to 
the same pious motives that founded the college in Con- 
necticut. 

Pennsylvania commands a more than usual share of cu- 
riosity ; as well on account of the illustrious individual 
whose name is perpetuated by its title, as its important 
rank in the present American union. 

The founder of this state was William Penn, son of sir 
William Penn, a distinguished admiral in the British navy, 
during the protectorate of Cromwell and part of the reign 
of Charles the second. From principle, and in opposition 
to all worldly motives, at an early period of his life, he 
joined the Quakers, when they were an obscure and a per- 
secuted sect. As one of their members, and a preacher, 
he was repeatedly imprisoned. W r hen brought to trial at 
the Old Bailey, in London, he pleaded his own cause, with 
the usual freedom of a Briton, and the boldness of a hero. 
The jury, at first, brought in a special verdict ; which being 
declared informal by the court,, they were menaced, and 
sent back. Upon this, Penn said to them, " Ye are Eng- 
lishmen ; mind your privilege ! give not away your right!' 
The next morning, they made the same return, were again 
threatened, and again remanded to their chamber. But, 



74 



HISTORY OF 



neither attentive to the instructions, nor fearful of the 
threats, of a corrupted judge, the jury remained firm to 
their opinion, and returned a verdict of acquittal. For this, 
they were severely fined, and, with the accused, imprisoned, 
until the unjust penalties were paid. Roused by proceed- 
ings so atrocious, Pennfc feelings and reflections led him to 
adopt the most liberal ideas of toleration : a love of free in- 
quiry, and a total abhorrence of persecution, took entire 
possession of his expanded mind. 

He had become, by purchase, a large owner of New Jer- 
sey ; but, being dissatisfied with his partners, he formed the 
design of acquiring a separate estate, and accordingly peti- 
tioned the king ; who, as an acquittance of sixteen thousand 
1681 P oun( ^ s d ue t° William Penn's father, granted him 

an extensive tract, which Charles named Pennsylva- 
nia, in honour of the admiral. He soon afterwards obtain- 
ed from the duke of York a conveyance of the town of New- 
castle, with all that country which now forms the state of 
Delaware. The patent provided for the king's sovereignty, 
and for obedience to British acts regarding commerce, and 
gave power to call a legislative assembly ; as well as to 
make such laws for the benefit of the province, as should 
not be repugnant to the laws and rights of England. 

The first colony, who were chiefly of his own sect, began 
their settlement above the confluence of the Schuylkill and 
Delaware rivers. By these, the proprietor sent a letter to 
the natives ; informing them, that " the great God had been 
pleased to make him concerned in their part of the world, 
and that the king of the country where he lived had given 
him a great province therein ; but that he did not wish to 
enjoy it without their consent : that he was a man of peace ; 
that the people whom he sent were of the same disposition ; 
and that if any difference should happen between them, it 
might be adjusted by an equal number of men chosen on 
both sides." He also mentioned, that he had appointed 
commissioners to treat with them, and that he himself 
would shortly visit them for the same purpose. 
ir o 9 Having selected a few confidential companions, 

this amiable man embarked, in the month of August, 
with about two thousand emigrants, and, in October, ar- 
rived in the Delaware. His reception must have been 
highly congenial with his feelings. As his ship sailed up the 
-iver, the inhabitants came on board, and saluted their new 
go\ernor with an air of joy and satisfaction. He landed at 
Newcastle, (the Casimer of the Swedes, and Niewer Amstel 



THE UNITED STATES'. 



75 



of the Dutch,) and immediately cultivated the good will of 
the natives; from whom, he purchased a sufficient quantity 
of land for the present use of the colony. Besides those 
sent out by himself, and those who accompanied him, there 
were, along the right bank of the Delaware, at least tiiree 
thousand Europeans, — Swedes, Dutch, Finlanders, and 
English ; and, in the course of a year, the settlements ex- 
tended from Chester to the falls of Trenton. 

The first legislative assembly was held at Chester ; at 
that time, called Upland. The Territories, (for, by this ti- 
tle, was distinguished the purchase from the duke of York,) 
were then annexed to the province ; but, afterwards they 
were detached, and continued a separate colony, with a dis- 
tinct assembly, yet under the superintendence of the govern- 
or of Pennsylvania. The laws at this period enacted were 
perfectly consistent with the mild tenor of the founder's 
professions. In addition to several, tending to encourage 
industry and repress the exercise of cruelty, it was declared, 
" that none, acknowledging one God, and living peaceably 
in society, should be molested for his opinions, or his prac- 
tice ; nor compelled to frequent or maintain any ministry 
whatever." To these liberal sentiments and wise regula- 
tions, may be attributed the rapid improvement of Penn- 
sylvania, and the spirit of diligence, order, and economy, 
for which its inhabitants have been so much admired. 

Philadelphia, which was begun on the site of the Indian 
village, Coquanoc, derives its name from a city in Asia 
Minor, celebrated, in sacred history, for having been the 
seat of an early Christian church. During the first twelve 
months after its foundation, about a hundred houses were 
erected ; and, since that period, it has received a continual 
accession of inhabitants from Ireland and Germany. Penn's 
residence in America was, at this time, not of long continu- 
ance. In 1684 he went to England, with the humane in- 
tention of soliciting a relaxation of the penal statutes against 
the Quakers, and all other dissenters from the church of 
England. In November, 1699, he returned, accompanied 
by his family; at a period when a malignant fevei had just 
ceased in Philadelphia, after carrying off two hundred per- 
sons. The number of houses in the city was then seven 
hundred: the inhabitants were about four thousand. But 
his residence was again only temporary, and much shorter 
than the interest of the colony required. After remaining 
about two years, his presence was necessary in England, to 



76 



HISTORY OF 



remonstrate against a design of the British government to 
deprive the several colonies of their charters, as well as to 
adjust disputed boundaries between himself and lord Bal- 
timore. 

The humanity of William Penn's disposition, while it 
embraced the most extended range, did not neglect the mi- 
nutest object. His biographers have recorded many pleas- 
ing occurrences. In a journey through the province, as an 
assiduous minister of his simple church, amongst the places 
he visited was Haverford. He was on horseback, and, 
overtaking a little girl, who was walking to attend the 
meeting at that place, with his usual good nature, he de- 
sired her to get up behind him ; and, drawing near to a 
convenient place, she mounted, and thus rode away ; her 
bare legs dangling by the side of the governor's horse. 

Though Penn was a wise and good man, and the people 
whom he led to Pennsylvania were in general orderly and 
well disposed, yet there existed almost constant bickerings. 
He changed the form of government three times, and each 
change was apparently an improvement, arid increased the 
satisfaction of the inhabitants ; yet, there seldom was an 
harmonious feeling between the people and the governor. 
From the opposition he had to encounter in England, and 
the difficulties in Pennsylvania, his life was a continued 
scene of vexation. His private fortune was materially in- 
jured by his advances to promote the infant settlement, 
particularly to preserve the friendship of the Indians ; and, 
after being harassed by his creditors, he was obliged to un- 
dergo a temporary deprivation of his personal liberty. But, 
though during his life, he was necessitous, on its termina- 
tion he was wealthy. Having reached his seventy-fifth 
year, he died at London, in 1718 ; leaving an inheritance to 
his children, ultimately of immense value : which they en- 
joyed until the Revolution, w r hen it was assigned to the 
commonwealth for an equitable sum in money. 

The first seventy years, including the period in which 
the Quaker principles ruled the colonial legislature, has 
been termed the golden age of Pennsylvania. No instance 
had occurred of the Indians killing unarmed people, unless 
they appeared to have connexion with others that were 
armed. This displays a striking contrast with the early 
and long continued wars maintained against the natives in 
New England ; and confirms our previous assertion, that 
ihe Europeans were, in that quarter, the aggressors. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



77 



In the last years of the seventeenth, and the first of the 
eighteenth century, during the destructive warfare between 
England and France, the defence of New-York, which 
borders on Canada, being considered as both the duty and 
interest of the other provinces, Pennsylvania was called on 
for her proportion of men and money. But the assembly, 
composed almost wholly of Quakers, firm to their principles, 
would neither pass laws for the enrolling of militia, nor do 
any other act which bore a military aspect. The necessity 
at length was extreme, and the danger hourly increasing. 
Assistance was most urgently demanded. But, as hitherto, 
the noise of distant warfare was ineffectual, an attempt was 
made to produce the terrors of actual invasion, by a strata- 
gem. Evans, the governor, spread over the country an 
alarm, on the foundation of false intelligence, that a num- 
ber of hostile vessels had entered the Delaware bay, and ad- 
vanced a considerable way towards its head. As the govern- 
or held the Quaker doctrine of non-resistance in contempt, 
he believed they would not stand a serious trial ; and, on 
the receipt of this intelligence, which came from Newcastle 
by a preconcerted express, he rode through the streets of 
Philadelphia, with a drawn sword in his hand, apparently 
in much emotion, commanding and urging all to come for- 
ward and defend the city. For a while, several believed 
the report ; and, accordingly, concealed their property, or 
removed with their families and effects out of the reach of 
immediate danger. But no indication of the Quakers' arm- 
ing was given, and, before the close of the day, the impo- 
sition being discovered, the governor and his friends were 
insulted, as the authors of a studied deception. 

Shortly afterwards, there was practised a more innocent 
stratagem; by which, Pennsylvania was relieved from an 
illiberal demand of the Territorial government ; a duty, 
payable in powder, on all vessels not owned by residents, 
when passing the fort at Newcastle. Against this exaction, 
the state had often remonstrated in vain. However, a few 
Quakers, amongst whom was Richard Hill, adopted a novel 
mode of defeating this claim, and without violating their 
pacific principles. Hill had a vessel ready for sea ; but, 
doubting the resolution of his captain to pass the fort with- 
out a permit, he himself went in her down the river ; and 
a little before arriving abreast of the fort, diopped anchor, 
went ashore, and used many arguments to obtain a free 
passage for his ship. His reasoning, however, was ineffec- 
tual. There was no relief except by stratagem. He there 
7 # 



78 



HISTORY OF 



fore returned to his vessel, stood to the helm himself, and, 
passing the fort, received its fire unhurt. The commander, 
in an armed boat, pursued. On his approach, Hill threw 
out a rope, and brought him on board. The rope was in- 
stantly cut. The boat fell astern. The commander was 
conducted peaceably to the cabin ; while the vessel, with 
her new passenger, pursued her voyage ; soon after which 
determined conduct, the demand of powder was relin- 
quished. 

In the interval between 1730 and the period when this 
history will relinquish the distinct colonial proceedings, to 
conduct the narrative of a sublime and awful period, when 
individual interests combine and move forward with a unity 
of action, there was an annual influx of emigrants. These 
were principally from Germany and Ireland. They set- 
tled in the counties of Lancaster, York, and Cumberland ; 
Northampton, Berks, Bedford, Northumberland, and West- 
moreland. The Irish and German people, at an early day, 
brought the useful arts and manufactures into Pennsylvania. 
To the former, she is indebted for the spinning and weaving 
of linen and woollen cloth ; to the latter, for various trades 
of indispensable utility to agriculture and society at large. 
Of all nations who have settled in America, the Germans 
have availed themselves the least of the unjust and demor- 
alizing aid of slavery ; a circumstance the more remark- 
able, as the governments under which they had been edu- 
cated were almost invariably despotic. The Irish and the 
French emigrants had enjoyed a large share of civil liberty, 
had boldly contended for a total enfranchisement from regal 
domination, and, in many instances, the latter seemed to 
desire the annihilation of all dominion : yet, in the southern 
states, no people less reluctantly practise this worst species 
of tyranny ; thus, when in power, openly denying that bless- 
ing to others, which, when in subjection, they had claimed 
for themselves. 

The honour of printing the first newspaper in Pennsyl- 
vania, belongs to Andrew Bradford and John Copson ; who, 
in the year 1719, published the American Weekly Mercu- 
ry. The foundation of a medical school in the new world 
was laid in 1764, by a course of lectures delivered at the 
University of Pennsylvania by Dr. Shippen. 

Delaware was first visited by the Swedes and Finlanders. 
In 1627, they purchased from the natives a large tract on 
each side of the river which now bears that name, and gave 
theii colony the name of New Sweden. Having, by their 



THE UNITED STATES. 79 



excellent deportment, obtained the friendship of the Indians, 
they made a settlement on Christiana-creek; laid out a 
handsome town on the west side of the Delaware ; and, soon 
afterwards, formed establishments at Lewistown, Tenecum, 
and Chester ; at each of which, they erected forts. Tenecum 
was their seat of government. About this period, the Eng- 
lish began a settlement at Elsingburg, on the Jersey side of 
the river : whence, they were expelled by the Dutch govern- 
or ; who employed the Swedes to keep them entirely out of 
the Delaware. Of this opportunity, the Swedes, however, 
made an unjustifiable use. Having raised a fort, on the 
very ground from which they had expelled the English, 
they asserted their ow T n exclusive right to the navigation of 
the river, and exercised authority over every vessel that 
entered ; from which usurpation, the Dutch themselves 
were not exempted. But this exclusion w T as not allowed to 
pass unnoticed. The Swedes soon felt the effects of their 
imprudence. Stuyvesant reduced all their forts, on both 
sides of the Delaware, sent the officers and principal inhabi- 
tants in confinement to Holland, and incorporated the re- 
mainder with his own government ; under which they re- 
mained, until their invaders were overthrown, as already 
related, by the superior power of the English. 

We come now to speak of Georgia ; the last settled of 
the thirteen colonies that revolted from the government of 
Britain, and established their independence. 

It derives its name from the sovereign, George the sec- 
ond ; by whose authority it was established. Its promoter 
17°2 was g enera ^ Oglethorpe. Under his conduct, one 
° hundred and sixteen persons embarked at Graves- 
end, in November ; and, early in the ensuing year, on the 
site of an Indian village, called Yomacrow, laid the founda- 
tion of Savannah ; a town named from the river upon which 
it stands. A treaty was shortly afterwards made with the 
Indians ; from whom was obtained a considerable cession 
of lands ; which, for the purpose of defending the colony, 
were, at first, granted to the settlers as military fiefs, on 
condition that they were, when called upon, to appear in 
arms. 

As the Spaniards laid claim to Georgia, Oglethorpe en 
gaged with activity in the essential business of defence. 
He erected forts at Augusta and Frederica. The policy 
of this measure was soon apparent. In a few days after 
y^/g> their completion, the Spaniards sent against him 
three thousand men, to drive his people from the 



80 



HISTORY OF 



colony. When the invaders were proceeding up the Alta= 
maha, the governor was obliged to retreat to Frederica, 
Besides some Indians, he had not more than seven hundred 
men : yet, with only a part of this inferior force, he bravely 
advanced within two miles of the enemies' camp, designing 
to attack them by surprise ; when a French soldier of his 
party fired his musket, and ran into the Spanish lines. 
Oglethorpe's situation was truly critical : he knew that the 
deserter would make known his weakness. But though he 
now despaired of repelling the enemy by force, he hoped 
to induce them to retreat by his address. Returning to 
Frederica, he wrote a letter to the deserter, desiring him 
to acquaint the Spaniards of its defenceless state, and urge 
them to the attack. If he could accomplish this object, he 
was directed to use all his art in persuading them to remain 
three days at fort Simons's ; as, within that period, he 
should have a reenforcement of two thousand land-troops, 
with six ships of war : and, at the same time, he was cau- 
tioned not to drop a hint of admiral Vernon's intended en- 
terprise against St. Augustine. This letter was given to 
a Spanish prisoner, under a promise of delivering it to the 
deserter; but he handed it, as was expected, to the com- 
mander-in-chief. The Frenchman was accordingly placed 
in irons. He was no longer considered a deserter, but a spy. 
Meanwhile, three ships of war, despatched from Carolina, 
appeared upon the coast ; thus, realizing the apprehensions 
of the Spaniard, and, in part, the ingenious stratagem of 
his opponent. The enemy were agitated and alarmed : in 
their consternation, they set fire to the fort, and hastily em- 
barked 

For many years, during the infancy of Georgia, it lan- 
guished, through various causes ; — the peculiar tenure of 
the lands, the restriction on the importation of rum, (which 
deprived it of a market for its lumber, in the West Indies,) 
and the total prohibition against the introduction of slaves. 
As regards the first, we believe that the arrangement was 
both illiberal and impolitic; the second was perhaps erro- 
neous, though dictated by a parental feeling for the health 
and morals of the colony : but the law respecting slaves is 
approved by every generous, every manly feeling, of the 
heart , required by justice, by reason, by religion. Applica- 
tion, however, was frequently made to the proprietors for 
its annulment. W r ith this, do the annals of the world afford 
a parallel ; except in the appeal made, above two centuries 
before, by the Spaniards in Hispaniola, against the withhold . 



THE UNITED STATES. 



SI 



ing from exterminating slavery the legitimate tenants of 
1752 ^ e s0 ^ ^ e restr i c ^ on ' however, upon the sur- 
render of the charter to the crown, was immediately 
removed ; a measure which, though it may have increased 
the riches of the colony, has placed the name of Georgia 
pre-eminent amongst the supporters of this unhappy traffic. 

The early settlers in this state were principally from 
Scotland. Its founder was a native of England. Entering 
the army at an early age, he served on the continent of 
Europe under the celebrated prince Eugene, until the res* 
toration of peace, when he was returned a member of the 
British parliament. In that assembly, general Oglethorpe 
distinguished himself as a useful legislator, by proposing 
several laws for the benefit of trade and the reform of pris- 
ons. His philanthropy should . not be forgotten. At the 
beginning of the colonial misunderstanding with the mother 
country, he was offered the command of the British army 
in America ; but, highly to his honour, he refused the im- 
portant office, on the principle of not being commissioned 
to do that degree of justice to the people, to which he 
might be equitably inclined. This able soldier, and virtu- 
ous and accomplished citizen, died, after the contest wag 
decided, at the venerable age of ninety-seven years ; being 
the oldest general in the English service. 



CHAPTER VI. 

George Washington. Defeat of Braddock. Death of gen- 
eral Wolfe. Conquest of Canada. Dr. Franklin. Dis~ 
putes with the British Parliament. Meeeting of Congress, 
War. Declaration of Independence. 

We have only slightly glanced at the uninterrupted hos- 
tilities hitherto carried on between the colonists and the 
French in one quarter, and the Spaniards in another. Nor 
is it our intention, henceforward, to detail them with minute- 
ness. Nothing shall be introduced, here, further than what 
seems essential, to preserve the continuity of history, and 
enable us, when describing an event, to see perspicuously 
the channels through which it flowed, and the source from 
which it sprung. 

In reviewing the desolating collision that so long subsist- 
ed between the crowns of France and England, we are na- 
turally led to inquire, to which party belonged the most 



82 



HISTORY OF 



equitable right of possession. It is evident, that as far as 
depended on discovery, England had the advantage ; but, 
as regarded occupation, the claims of France were, in some 
respects, superior, and, in all, nearly equal. The settle- 
ments at Jamestown and Quebec, the first respective capitals 
of each, were made so nearly at the same time, as to be with- 
in fifteen months of each other. The first established w r as 
Quebec. But the period at length arrived, when the ques- 
tion of boundary was no longer to be a subject of diplomatic 
ingenuity, but of a more decisive mode of argument, the 
sword. France, besides having possession of Canada, in 
the north, had also a territory on the Mississippi, called 
Louisiana, in the south ; and strove, by a military chain, 
the links of which were formed of out-posts stretching 
along the Ohio and the lakes, to connect these two extremi- 
ties, and thus restrain the British colonists within the ar- 
bitrary limits of her own dictation. The latter, however, 
were not disposed, either to submit to the curtailment, or 
to incur the additional inconvenience of a savage warfare, 
nurtured by that means, at their very doors. They had 
too severely felt the influence of the French, when more dis- 
tant, by their encouraging the Indians to destroy them : 
and, moreover, they claimed the entire lands from the At- 
lantic to the Pacific ocean. 

An interesting character was, by this misunderstanding, 
brought forward. Repeated complaints of violence having 
been made to the governor of Virginia, he determined to 
send a suitable person to the French commandant near the 
Ohio, w T ith a letter, demanding the reason of his hostile pro- 
ceedings, and insisting that he should evacuate a fort which 
he had lately erected. For this arduous undertaking, 
George Washington, a major of the militia, then little more 
than twenty-one years of age, offered his service. The 
distance of the French settlement was above four hundred 
miles : half the route led through a wilderness, inhabited 
by hostile Indians. He received his instructions from gov- 
q ernor Dinwiddie, on the last day of October, and im- 
mediately commenced his journey. On the way, his 
horse failed. He nevertheless proceeded, with a single 
companion, on foot, with a gun in his hand, and his shoul- 
ders burthened by a pack ; on the 12th of December, reach- 
ed a French fort on the river Le Boeuf, (situated in that part 
of Pennsylvania, now included within the County of Erie,) 
and gave the letter to the commander. In a few days, he 
ceceived an answer; which, about the middle of January, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



63 



he delivered to the governor at Williamsburg, after as fa- 
tiguing and perilous a journey as it is possible to conceive. 
Throughout the whole, he and his friend experienced a con- 
tinued series of cold, wet weather. Every moment, they 
were in danger from a hidden foe ; and, at one time, an In- 
dian, belonging to a party who had lain for the purpose in 
ambush, discharged a rifle at them, when within less than 
fifteen yards ; but fortunately missed his object. Yet, under 
all these disadvantages, Washington was enabled, by his 
own observations, and by inquiries from others, to gain very 
extensive information ; respecting the face and soil of the 
country, the distances and bearings of places, and the num- 
ber, size, and strength, of nearly all the enemy's forts. 

George Washington was born in the parish which bears 
his family name, in the county of Westmoreland, in Vir- 
ginia, on the 11th (corresponding with the new style 22d) 
of February, 1732. He was the third son of Augustine 
Washington, a planter, of respectable talents, distinguished 
integrity, and large estate ; descended from an ancient fa- 
mily of Cheshire, in England : one of whom removed to 
Virginia, about the middle of the seventeenth century, and 
became the proprietor of a large tract of land in King 
George's county. Inhaling a pure mountain air, and ac- 
customed to the healthful occupations of a rural life, his 
limbs expanded to a large and well-proportioned size, cor- 
responding with his majestic stature. His education was 
suited to the business of the country. His classical studies 
were not pursued beyond the rudiments of the Latin tongue ; 
but his knowledge of the most useful branches of mathe- 
matics, was sufficiently extensive. 

At the age of ten years, his father dying, the charge of 
a numerous family devolved on major Washington's eldest 
brother, Lawrence ; a young gentleman of promising tal- 
ents, who had a captain's commission in the provincial 
troops, employed in the celebrated attack against Cartha- 
gena, under admiral Vernon. On his return, Lawrence 
married the daughter of the honourable William Fairfax, 
and settled on his patrimonial estate ; which, through re- 
spect to his admiral, he called Mount Vernon. He was af- 
terwards made adjutant-general of the militia of Virginia: 
but did not long survive the appointment. He left one 
daughter, who died young ; and his second brother also, 
having died without children, the major succeeded to Mount 
Vernon. The genius of Washington was on the point of 
being exercised on a different element from that on wh^h 



84 



HISTORY OF 



he has been already introduced. At the age of fifteen, he 
was entered as a midshipman in the British navy ; but his 
mother, then a widow, unwilling that he should be employed 
at so great a distance, that profession was abandoned. 

The reply which the French commander had given, 
brought matters to a crisis. The Virginia assembly were 
induced to organize a regiment, in order to support the 
claims of Britain over the territory in dispute. Of this, 
Mr. Fry was appointed colonel, and young Washington 
2 754 lieutenant colonel. With two companies, the latter 
pushed forward as far as the Great Meadows ; where 
he surprised and captured, in the night, a party of French 
who were advancing towards the English settlements. 
Shortly afterwards, Mr. Fry died, and Washington became 
commander of the regiment. Having then collected the 
whole at the Meadows, and being joined by two independ- 
ent companies, he went on to dislodge the enemy from Fort 
Duquesne (the site of the present Pittsburg ;) a post 
which they had recently erected at the confluence of the 
Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. On his way, however, 
being informed that the garrison had been strongly re- 
enforced, and that the French were again advancing with 
nine hundred men, besides Indians, his own party not being 
four hundred, he deemed it prudent to fall back, and make 
a stand at a fort which he had thrown up previous to his set- 
ting out. Before he had time to complete his fortifications, 
he was attacked by De Villier. He made a brave defence, 
behind his small unfinished works ; but, after a contest of 
nine hours, in w T hich two hundred of the enemy were killed, 
he was under the necessity of agreeing to a capitulation ; 
his men being allowed to march out with all the honours of 
war, to retain their arms and baggage, and retire, unmolest- 
ed, into the inhabited parts of Virginia. 

To draw forth the colonial resources, in a uniform sys- 
tem of operations, a meeting of the governors and most 
distinguished members of the provincial assemblies was 
held at Albany, in the state of New- York ; where, it was 
proposed, that a grand council should be formed, of per 
sons chosen by the respective assemblies ; which council, 
together with a governor, to be chosen by the crown, should 
be authorized to make general laws, and to raise money, 
from all the colonies, for the common defence. But this 
plan was not acceptable to the British ministry. They pro- 
posed another ; that the governors, attended by one or two 
members of their respective councils, which were, for the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



85 



most part, of royal appointment, should concert measures 
for all the colonies , erect forts, and raise troops : with 
power to draw on the English treasury, in the first instance ; 
but the expense to be ultimately reimbursed by a tax laid 
on the colonies by act of 'parliament. This plan was as much 
disrelished by the colonies, as the former had been by the 
British ministry. Having been communicated, through 
one of the royal governors, to Dr. Franklin, and his opinion 
thereon requested, this sagacious patriot expressed his sen- 
timents in writing ; and, by his strong reasoning powers, 
discovered, in the intended measure, the germ of a con- 
troversy in which he himself holds so conspicuous and hon- 
ourable a place. 

By whatever means, however, the supplies were to be 
raised, both England and the colonies agreed that no time 
should be lost in commencing the military operations. It 
was therefore resolved to drive the French from the Ohio, 
and from all the posts which they held within the limits 
claimed by the king of Great Britain. To effect the first 
purpose, general Braddock was sent from Europe to 
Virginia, with two regiments ; where he was joined 
by as many as increased his force to twenty-two hundred 
men. He was a brave man ; but his bravery was unaccom- 
panied by experience. He was strict in the camp ; but his 
strictness was tinctured with severity, and his severity ap- 
proached to arrogance. He particularly slighted the colo- 
nial militia, and the Virginia officers. Washington, who 
acted as aid-de-camp of the general, asked permission to 
go before him, and scour the woods with provincial troops ; 
who were well acquainted with that service. But this was 
refused. Braddock, with twelve hundred men, pushed on, 
incautiously, until, on the 9th of July, within about eight 
miles of Fort Duquesne, near the eastern bank of the 
Monongahela, he fell into an ambuscade of French and 
Indians. The invisible enemy commenced a heavy and well- 
directed fire on his uncovered troops. The van was forced 
back on the main body, and the whole was thrown into con- 
fusion. The slaughter was dreadful : particular^ amongst 
the officers. In a short time, Washington was the only aid- 
de-camp left alive, and not wounded. He had two horses 
shot under him, and four bullets passed through his coat : 
but he escaped unhurt. Throughout the whole of the car- 
nage and confusion, he displayed the greatest coolness and 
self-possession. Braddock, too, was undismayed, amidst 
a shower of bullets ; and by his countenance and example 
8 



86 



HISTORY OF 



encouraged his men to stand their ground : but valour was 
useless, and discipline only offered a surer mark to the de- 
structive aim of unseen marksmen. The action lasted near- 
ly three hours, and seven hundred of his men were killed upon 
the spot. The general had three horses shot under him, 
and received a mortal wound. All the officers in the Brit- 
ish regiments evinced the utmost bravery : their whole 
number was eighty-five ; of whom sixty-four were killed or 
wounded. Their men were so disconcerted, by the unusual 
mode of attack, and the dreadful war-whoop of the Indians, 
that they soon broke, and could not be rallied : but the pro- 
vincials, more accustomed to the scene, were much less af- 
fected. They continued, an unbroken body, under colonel 
Washington, and covered the retreat of their associates. 

Three successive campaigns had procured nothing but 
expense and disappointment. The French had the com- 
mand of the lakes, a complete ascendency over the Indians, 
and were in possession of the whole country, the disputed 
occupation of which had caused the w T ar. With an inferior 
force, they had been successful in every campaign ; in 
America, in Europe, and in Asia. Gloomy apprehensions 
were entertained as to the destiny of the British colonies. 
If^Q These fears w T ere soon removed. A change of min- 
istry took place. William Pitt, (afterwards lord Chat- 
ham,) was intrusted with the public helm. To despair, 
succeeded hope ; and to hope, victory. His active mind, 
and enterprising genius, seemed to be diffused throughout 
the empire, — through the senate and the people, the army 
and the navy. Supplies were granted w T ith liberality, and 
given without reluctance : soldiers enlisted freely, and fought 
with enthusiasm. In a short time, the French were dispos- 
sessed, not only of all the territories in dispute, but 
of Quebec, and their ancient province of Canada ; so 
that all that remained to them, of their numerous settlements 
in North America, was New Orleans, with a few plantations 
on the Mississippi. The French regular troops were trans- 
ported to France : the Canadians, being secured in the 
possession of their property, and in the undisturbed enjoy- 
ment of their religion, submitted, and took the oath of al- 
legiance to the king of England. 

The siege of Quebec recalls the name of an illustrious 
British officer, the gallant Wolfe ; the general who led the 
European and colonial troops to victory before its walls, 
and fell in the moment of success. His youth, his spirit, 
his amiable and social manners, and an engagement which 
he had formed in England with the interesting object of his 



THE UNITED STATES. 



87 



affections ; all, awaken the tenderest sympathies of a gene- 
rous breast. The name of Wolfe will be recollected vvith a 
pleasing sorrow. The closing scene of his military glory, 
drawn by the commanding pencil of Barry, and of West, 
will be a lasting subject of admiration. 
■t~02 After hostilities had raged nearly eight years, a 
general peace was concluded. France ceded Canada 
to Great Britain ; and Spain, having taken part in the war, 
relinquished, as the price of recovering Havanna, both East 
and West Florida ; leaving Britain in possession of an ex- 
tent of country equal to the combined dimensions of several 
kingdoms in Europe. The addition of Canada on the north, 
and the Floridas on the south, made her almost sole mis- 
tress of the northern continent.* 

Important considerations attended the termination of this 
colonial struggle. To enable us to form a just estimate of 
the contending arguments, it will be useful to relate the 
occurrences by which they were preceded. As often as 
pecuniary or military aid had been required from the colo- 
nies, during the continuance of that widely-extended warfare, 
requisitions were made upon their respective legislatures ; 
which, in general, were cheerfully answered. Very pow- 
erful assistance was given. Four hundred colonial priva- 
teers cruised with successful vigilance, and twenty-four thou- 
sand provincial soldiers co-operated with the English regu- 
lars in North America. 

The recent addition to the British empire, of those vast 
regions, which would gradually be advancing in population 
and in power, not only excited the jealousy of sovereigns, 
but occasioned doubts in the minds of enlightened politi- 
cians, whether acquisitions so immense would contribute to 
the welfare of the parent state. To combine, in one uniform 
system of government, the extensive territory then subject- 
ed to the British sway, appeared to men of reflection an 
impracticable task. Nor were they mistaken in their con- 
jectures. The high sentiments of liberty and independence, 
nurtured in the colonies, from their situation and habits of 
society, were increased by the removal of hostile neigh- 
bours. War, also, had left impressions not less likely to in- 
fluence their future destination. They had gained ex- 
perience in the field, and confidence in their own ability. 
Foreseeing their importance, from the rapid increase of 
their numbers, and extension of their commerce; and be- 



* The Spaniards regained the Floridas, in the great American war, 



88 



HISTORY OF 



ing jealous of their rights ; they readily admitted, and with 
pleasure indulged, ideas favourable to independence : and, 
while combustible materials were collecting in the new 
world, a brand to enkindle them was preparing in the old. 

During their infancy, Great Britain regarded her planta- 
tions as mere instruments of commerce. Without charg- 
ing herself with the care of their internal police, or seeking 
from them a revenue, she was contented with a monopoly 
of their trade. Until the year 1784, the colonial regulations 
seemed to have no other object than the common good of 
the whole empire. Bat a new era of political experiment 
then commenced. When the colonies had grown more 
capable of resisting impositions, she changed the ancient 
system, under which they had long flourished. When pru- 
dence would have dictated a relaxation of her authority, 
she rose in her demands, and multiplied her restraints. She 
enacted that their bills of credit should cease to have legal 
currency, and commenced the anomalous system of raising 
from them an efficient revenue, by direct internal taxes, 
laid by authority of parliament ; a measure, universally re- 
probated, as contrary to their natural and chartered rights, 
and now brought forward as a means of reducing her na- 
tional debt, amounting to nearly one hundred and fifty mil- 
lions sterling. The minister urged, that it was reasonable 
the colonies should contribute a just portion of the expen- 
ses incurred by the late w r ar, which had originated on their 
account. To this principle, the latter made no objections : 
but, while they admitted the principle, they opposed the 
manner of enforcement. They believed, that the chief ex- 
cellence of the British constitution lay in the right of the 
subjects to grant, or to withhold, taxes : and in their hav- 
ing a share in the enactment of laws, by w T hich they were 
to be governed ; and, as they were not represented in the 
British parliament, that they should not be obliged to con- 
tribute what that body might find it their interest to exact. 

At 'the time of that disastrous warfare, in which Wash- 
ington rose upon the ruins of the incautious Braddock, re- 
solutions had passed the British parliament for laying a 
stamp-duty in America ; but they were not followed imme- 
diately by any legislative act. The declaratory opinion of 
tnat body met no opposition, on either side of the Atlantic ; 
because " the omnipotence of parliament" was then a fa- 
miliar phrase : but, afterwards, when the measure was ex 
amined, it was better understood, and constitutional objec- 
tions were urged by many sagacious statesmen, both in 



THE UNITED STATES. 



89 



England and America. But, notwithstanding the powerful 
reasons offered against this unjust and hazardous experi- 
ment, George Grenville, impelled by a partiality for a long- 
l^Qfr cherished scheme, in the following year, again 
brought into the house of commons this unpopular 
bill, and succeeded in its enactment. By this, the instru- 
ments of writing in daily use amongst a commercial people, 
were to be null and void, unless executed on paper or 
parchment stamped with a specific duty. Law documents 
and leases, articles of apprenticeship and contracts, pro- 
tests and bills of sale, newspapers and advertisements, al- 
manacs and pamphlets, — all, must contribute to the British 
treasury. 

When the measure was debated, Charles Townshend 
delivered a speech in its favour ; in concluding which, 
" Will these Americans," he said, " children planted by 
our care, nourished by our indulgence, till they are grown 
up to a degree of strength and opulence, and protected by 
our arms ; w T ill they grudge to contribute their mite, to re- 
lieve us from the weight of that heavy burthen under 
which we lie ?" — " They, planted by your care !" replied 
colonel Barre : " No ; they were planted by your oppres- 
sions. They fled from tyranny, to an uncultivated, unhos- 
pitable country, where they exposed themselves to all the 
hardships to which human nature is liable ; and, amongst 
others, to the cruelty of a savage foe, the most subtle, and, 
I will take it upon me to say, the most formidable, people, 
on the face of this earth : and yet, actuated by principles 
of true English liberty, they met all hardships with pleas- 
ure, compared with what they had suffered in their own 
country, from the hands of those that should have been 
their friends. — They, nourished by your indulgence ! They 
grew up by your neglect. As soon as you began to extend 
your care, that care was displayed in sending persons to 
ruie them, in one department and another, who were, per 
haps, the deputies of deputies to some members of this 
house : sent to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their 
actions, and to prey upon their substance : men, whose be- 
haviour, cn many occasions, has caused the blood of those 
sons of freedom to recoil within them : men promoted to 
the highest seats of justice — some, who, to my knowledge, 
were glad, by going to a foreign country, to escape being 
brought to the bar of a court of justice in their own. — They, 
protected by your arms ! They have nobly taken up arms 
in your defence, have exerted a valour, amidst their con. 
8* 



00 



HISTORY OF 



stant and laborious industry, for the defence of a country ^ 
whose frontier was drenched in blood, while its interior 
parts yielded all its little savings to your emolument. And, 
believe me, that the same spirit of freedom, which actuated 
these people at first, will accompany them still : — but, pru- 
dence forbids me to explain myself further. God knows, I 
do not, at this time, speak from any motives of party heat 
I deliver the genuine sentiments of my heart. However 
superior to me, in general knowledge and experience, the 
respectable body of this house may be, yet, I claim to know 
more of America than most of you ; having seen that coun- 
try, and been conversant with its people. They are, I be- 
lieve, as truly loyal as any subjects the king has ; but a 
people jealous of their liberties, and who w r ill vindicate 
them, if ever they should be violated. But the subject is 
too delicate : I will say no more." 

The night after the bill passed, Dr. Franklin wrote to 
Mr. Charles Thomson, " The sun of liberty is set : you must 
light up the candles of industry and economy." — Mr. Thorn- 
son answered: "I was apprehensive that other lights would 
be the consequence, and I foresee the opposition that will 
be made." 

By a clause in the stamp-act, it was not to have opera- 
tion until the first day of November ; a period of more than 
seven months from its passing. This gave the colonists 
an opportunity of leisurely examining the subject, and 
viewing it on every side. The voice of legislative oppo- 
sition was, at this time, first heard in Virginia. In an an- 
imated speech, Mr. Patrick Henry, on the 20th of May, 
brought into the house of burgesses in that colony, a num- 
ber of resolutions, which were substantially adopted, and 
w r hich concluded by declaring, " That every individual, 
who, by speaking or acting, should assert or maintain, that 
any person, or body of men, except the general assembly 
of the province, had any right to impose taxation there, 
should be deemed an enemy to his majesty's colony." 

" Caesar," exclaimed the orator, "had his Brutus ; Charles 
the first, his Cromwell ; and George the third — may profit 
by his example." 

A declaration, similar to that of Virginia, had been made, 
nearly a century before, in Massachusetts. 

Those resolutions were immediately disseminated through 
the other provinces. The tongues and pens of the well- 

formed citizens laboured in kindling the latent sparks of 
patriotism. The fire of liberty blazed forth from the press, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



II 



and its influence became general. As the legislative assem- 
blies met, they displayed a similar feeling. The people, in 
their town meetings, instructed their representatives to op- 
pose the innovation. The assembly in Massachusetts (before 
the arrival of the Virginia declarations) passed a resolution 
in favour of a continental Congress ; fixed a day in October 
for its meeting in New York, and sent letters to the speakers 
of the other assemblies, requesting their concurrence. 

This first advance towards a union was seconded by 
South Carolina. The other colonies, too, with the excep- 
tion of Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, prevented 
by their governors, and New Hampshire, which dissented 
from the proposition, espoused the invitation, and assem- 
bled at the appointed place. Here, they agreed on a de- 
claration of their rights, and a statement of their grievances : 
asserting, in strong language, their exemption from all 
taxes, not imposed by their own representatives ; and drew 
up a petition to the king, with memorials to the house of 
lords and the house of commons. 

There was, however, a considerable degree of timidity 
evinced in this congress ; and the . members were on no 
measure unanimous. Thomas Ruggles, of New York, who 
presided, refused to affix his name to the memorial ; and Mr. 
Ogden, then speaker of the New Jersey assembly, followed 
his example : for which conduct, he was burned in effigy, in 
many counties of his province, and removed from his situa- 
tion. The boldest, and most impressive arguments were of- 
fered by James Otis of Massachusetts ; who was one of the 
earliest patriots of that time, and fell a private sacrifice tc 
.the cause which he had so fearlessly defended. 

At length, arrived the first of November; the day on 
which the obnoxious impost was to commence its opera- 
tion. The general aversion to the act was demonstrated 
in a variety of w r ays. The people of Boston forcibly dis- 
played their feelings. The morning which matured its 
existence, spoke forth its destroying agency in the mourn- 
ful accents of the funeral knell ; many shops and stores 
were closed ; effigies of the unpopular characters were pa 
raded through the streets, and exposed to that derision 
which was merited by the originals. At Portsmouth, in 
New Hampshire, the day was ushered in with similar evi- 
dence of hostility and grief. The proceedings there were 
remarkably affecting. In the course of the day, notice 
having been given to the friends of Liberty, to attend her 



92 



HISTORY OF 



funeral, a coffin, neatly ornamented and inscribed with the 
word, " Liberty," was carried to the grave. The proces- 
sion moved forward from the state-house, attended by un- 
braced drums. Minute guns were fired, and continued 
until the coffin arrived at the place of interment. Then, 
a eulogium on the deceased was pronounced. It w T as 
scarcely ended, before the coffin was taken up ; it having 
been perceived that some remains of life were left : the in- 
scription was immediately altered to " Liberty Revived :" 
the bells exchanged their melancholy, for a joyful sound, 
and satisfaction appeared in every countenance. 

Notwithstanding that the stamp-law was to have operated 
from the first of November, yet legal proceedings in the 
courts were carried on as before : vessels entered and de- 
parted without stamped papers : printers boldly circulated 
their newspapers, and, in most departments, business was 
conducted, by common consent, in defiance of the parlia- 
ment, as if no stamp act was in existence. The people of 
Philadelphia, and, after them, nearly all the commercial 
population of English America, prohibited lawyers from in- 
stituting any action for money due to an inhabitant of Eng- 
land. Nor was this determined spirit of opposition con- 
fined to a mere defensive means of parliamentary defeat. 
Still further measures were adopted. Associations were 
formed against importing British manufactures, until that 
law should be repealed ; which, by throwing many thousands 
in the mother country out of employment, and depriving 
her merchants of the usual benefits attending extensive or- 
ders, made it the interest of both classes in England to ad- 
vocate the cause of the Americans. 

In order to remedy the deficiency of British goods, the 
colonists applied with diligence to domestic manufactures : 
to increase the quantity of wool, they abstained from eat- 
ing lamb : and to form a barrier against the enforcement of 
the obnoxious act, they resolved to protect, by force of arms, 
all who should be in danger from resistance. 
1766 Conduct so magnanimous and firm had the desired 
effect. Warm discussions followed in the British 
parliament. The marquis of Rockingham, much esteemed 
for his sincerity and the vigour of his genius, was appointed 
first lord of the treasury, in the room of George Grenville ; 
and general Conway w T as called to fill the place of colo- 
nial secretary. Anxiously desirous to obtain a revocation 
of tne ODnoxious taxes, the new administration invited the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



93 



aid of the opinion and authority of Dr. Franklin ; who., as 
agent for some of the colonies, was examined at the bar of 
the house of commons ; and, in that pungent manner, charac- 
teristic of his superior mind, gave extensive information, 
which served greatly to remove prejudices, and promote a 
disposition friendly to a repeal. The ablest speakers in 
both houses denied the justice of taxing the colonies. " You 
have no right," said William Pitt, " to tax America. I re- 
joice that she has resisted. Three millions of people, so 
lost to every sense of virtue, as voluntarily to submit to be 
slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of 
all the rest." The opposition could not be withstood : the 
repeal was carried in March ; an event which caused greal 
joy in England. The ships in the river Thames displayed 
their colours, and the city was illuminated. In America, 
the homespun clothes were presented to the poor, and or- 
ders for British goods were given more extensively than 
ever. 

But, though the taxes were repealed, the right of levying 
them was not relinquished. Simultaneously with the revo- 
cation, was passed the declaratory act, purporting that the 
legislature of Great Britain had a right to make laws to bind 
the colonies in all cases whatever. This alleged power 
would not, however, it was thought, have been used, had 
not the Rockingham administration been displaced by the 
baneful counsels of lord Bute ; who was enabled to influence 
the king, in consequence of having superintended his edu- 
cation. The chief reins of government were now given to 
the duke of Grafton. Charles Townshend, the new chancel- 
lor of the exchequer, immediately procured a bill for grant- 
ing in the colonies, duties on glass, paper, painters' colours, 
and tea. 

The fire of opposition, which had been deprived of its 
fuel by the repeal of the former impost, was now kindled, 
with additional ardour, by the same principle exhibited in 
its new form. John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, was an 
able advocate of his country's rights. He attracted public 
notice in a series of letters, signed " A Farmer ;" proving 
the extreme danger that threatened the liberties of Ameri- 
ca, from submission to a precedent establishing the claim 
of parliamentary taxation. Dr. Franklin afterwards pub- 
lished a number of pieces, much in the style of the Irish 
patriot, Swift ; which, by their excellent wit and humour, 
combined with the pointed justness of the allegory, had a 
powerful influence on the understanding of the people. 



94 



HISTORY OF 



Virginia held a pen, which poured forth conviction in the 
captivating style of classic elegance. The Monitor's Let- 
ters, by Dr. Lee ; a Summary View of the Rights of Brit- 
ish America, by Thomas Jefferson ; an Inquiry into the 
Rights of the British Colonies, by Richard Bland ; and 
" Considerations," by Robert Carter Nicholas, as well as 
the memorials, remonstrances, and other public acts of that 
colony ; were all written in a masterly manner. South 
Carolina produced a poem, entitled " Liberty," under the 
assumed name of Rusticus ; which, for dignity and vigour, 
will vie with any that has ever appeared, on the subject of 
politics. Its motto, " Et majores vestros et poster os cogi- 
tate" (Think of your fathers, and your posterity,) was hap- 
pily appropriate ; addressing every noble and generous 
affection of the human breast. The controversy was ably 
supported also in New England. The subsequent orations 
of Warren and Hancock, in commemoration of an affray 
in which their fellow-citizens of Boston were slain, exhibit 
fine specimens of impassioned eloquence. But, the most 
powerful writer was the celebrated Thomas Paine, of Lon- 
don, who afterwards acted as Secretary for Foreign Affairs 
to the congress of the United States ; and, in a work 
entitled Common Sense, roused the public feeling to a de- 
gree unequalled by any previous appeal. 

As might have been expected, the new duties gave rise 
to a second association for suspending importations of Brit- 
ish manufactures. Uniformity in this measure w T as pro- 
moted by the Massachusetts' assembly ; whose activity 
drew forth the marked displeasure of the crown. They 
were ordered to cancel their resolutions , and, on their re- 
fusal, were dissolved. 

The bad humour which already so much prevailed, was 
about this time inflamed to a high degree of resent- 
ment and violence, by fhe seizure of Mr. Hancock's 
sloop Liberty, for not having entered all the wines she had 
brought from Madeira ; a refusal made in accordance with 
the recent spirit of non-importation. Soon afterwards, two 
regiments and some armed vessels arrived in Boston, to 
assist the revenue officers in the execution of their duty. 
These served to restrain the fury of the multitude ; but they 
increased the displeasure and vigilance of the more import- 
ant members of society. Out of ninety-seven townships, 
deputies from ninety-six attended a convention in that town, 
reviewed the transactions of the past, turned their minds to 
the alarming prospect of the future, and stated to the world 
their opinions, and the causes of their meeting. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



95 



Encouraged by the expectation of quelling the refracto- 
ry by arms, or by the too often tried system of division, 
the parliament, for a while, maintained with obstinacy 
their determination to enforce the duties. They continued 
to dissolve the opposing assemblies, and even threatened 
still further infringements and severity. But the colonists 
retained their accustomed firmness : each inroad upon 
their rights caused a new sacrifice of commercial advan 
tage, a fresh retrenchment of domestic luxury and comfort. 
This collision, the mercantile and manufacturing classes in 
England having felt with destructive force, lord North, who 
had succeeded the duke of Grafton as prime minister 
dreading the effects of popular resentment, paused 
for a moment in the career of ruin and disgrace, and 
obtained a repeal of the duties on glass, paper, and paint- 
ers' colours, — but retained it upon the tea. 

This concession was followed by a temporary caJrr :i 
From the pledges then given by the British government 
that they would not again attempt to lay taxes on the colo- 
nies for the purpose of revenue, and from the various 
sources by which they were supplied with tea, without be- 
ing under the necessity of infringing their determinations 
against importing it from Great Britain, the mercantile in- 
tercourse with the mother country was renewed ; and many 
hoped that the contention was closed for ever. In all the 
provinces, except Massachusetts, appearances favoured 
that opinion. But many incidents operated there, to dis- 
turb that harmony which had begun, in other places, to re- 
turn. The stationing of a military force amongst the in- 
habitants in that province, was a fruitful source of uneasi- 
ness. Reciprocal insults soured the tempers, and mutual 
injuries embittered the passions, of the opposite parties. 
Some high-spirited persons in Boston, who thought it an 
indignity to have troops quartered on them, were constant- 
ly exciting the populace to quarrel with the soldiers. Or 
the second of March, an affray took place between a private 
soldier and an inhabitant : on the fifth, a party, when under 
arms, were insulted by a mob, pelted with stones, and dared 
to fire ; and, at length, unable to withstand the increasing 
violence, a few muskets being discharged, by which three 
men were killed, nothing but a promise to remove the 
army from the town, prevented the inhabitants from taking 
Immediate revenge. The captain who commanded, and 
the privates who fired on the people, were tried on a charge 
of murder, but acquitted ; a result which reflects great 



96 



HISTORY OF 



honour on their counsel, John Adams and Josiah Quincey, 
and also upon the jury ; on the one, for thus boldly exerting 
their professional abilities ; on the other, for giving an up- 
right verdict, in defiance of popular opinion or resentment. 

" The events of that tragical night," observes a well-in- 
formed historian, " sunk deep into the minds of the people, 
and were made subservient to important purposes. The 
anniversary of it was observed with great solemnity. Elo 
quent orators were successively employed, to . deliver an 
annual oration, to preserve the remembrance of it fresh in 
their minds ; and thus, the blessings of liberty, the horrors 
of slavery, the dangers of a standing army, the rights of 
the colonies, were presented to the public, in their most 
pleasing and alarming forms." 

From these, and other occurrences not essential to be 
noticed in the pages of an epitome, no other than the most 
guarded conduct, on both sides, could prevent a universal 
explosion. 

But an impolitic scheme, afterwards concerted between 
the British ministry and the East India Company, led the 
contending parties again on the disputed ground, and 
formed them in hostile array against each other. The cora- 
^rjjg pany were now authorized to export their tea, to all 
places, free of duty. By this regulation, that article, 
though loaded, in the colonies, with an exceptionable im- 
post, would be cheaper, there, than before it was made a 
source of revenue ; the duty thus removed when exported 
from Great Britain, being greater than that to be paid 
on its importation into America. Confident, therefore, of 
success, in finding a market for their tea, in this manner 
lowered in its price, and also of collecting a duty on it in 
the colonies, the company freighted several ships with this 
commodity, and appointed agents for its disposal. How- 
ever, as the time approached when their arrival might be 
expected, such measures were adopted, as were the most 
likely to prevent the landing of their cargoes. The con- 
signees were in several places compelled to relinquish 
their appointments : the pilots, in the Delaware, were 
warned not to conduct any of the tea-ships into that river ; 
and, in New York, popular vengeance was denounced 
against all who would contribute, in any measure, to for- 
ward the views of the East India Company. In conse- 
quence, the captains, destined to New York and Philadel- 
phia, returned directly to Great Britain, without making 
any entry a. the custom-house. But it was otherwise at 



THE UNITED STATES. 



97 



Boston. The tea, for the supply of that port, was consign- 
ed to the sons and particular friends of governor Hutchin- 
son. They were resolute in their determination to receive 
it; the custom-house officers and the governor equally 
strenuous to prevent the vessels from departing, without a 
regular entry and clearance. A new method of defence, 
therefore, became necessary. What was so zealously im- 
ported for their consumption, the people, with a correspond- 
ing energy, were determined to destroy. Countenanced 
by the general voice, a party, dressed as Indians, boarded 
the tea-ships, broke open their cargoes, and threw the con- 
tents into the sea. 

The event of this business was very different from what 
had been expected in England. With so much vigour had 
the colonists acted, that there was not a single chest sold, 
of all that were sent out by the East India Company. 

Enraged against the people of Boston, the parlia- 
ment resolved to take legislative vengeance on that 
devoted town. Disregarding the forms of the British con- 
stitution, by which none are to be condemned unheard, or 
punished without a trial, they passed a bill, closing, in a 
commercial sense, its port : and, soon afterwards, its cus- 
tom-house officers, and consequently its trade, were re- 
moved to Salem : there, to remain, until reparation should 
be made for the property destroyed. The charter of the 
colony was new-modeled ; so that the whole executive gov- 
ernment was taken from the people, and the nomination 
to all important offices vested in the crown. Nor was this 
thought sufficient. It was enacted, that if any person was 
indicted for murder, or for any capital offence committed 
in aiding the magistrates, the government might send him 
to another colony, or to Great Britain, to be tried ; a pre- 
caution evidently superfluous ; as a remarkable proof of 
the dispassionate administration of justice in Massachusetts, 
stood recorded, in the case of the British officer and his 
party. 

Property, liberty, and life, were thus subjected to minis 
terial caprice. But, though these violations excited grief, 
they failed to produce terror, amongst the Americans. 
They awoke the indifferent ; they inflamed the ardent. One 
soul now animated nearly all the colonies. The parlia- 
ment, notwithstanding, did not rest here : they advanced 
another step ; which increased their enemies on one side of 
the Atlantic, and alienated their friends on the other. They 
passed an act, relating to the government of Canada ; by 
9 



6 



HISTORY OF 



which, its boundaries were extended southward to the Ohio, 
westward to the Mississippi, and northward to the borders 
of the Hudson's Bay Company : its laws were assimilated 
to the French : dispensing, in civil cases, with the trial by 
jury : thereby, rendering its inhabitants passive agents in 
the hands of power ; to aid, it was supposed, in deterring 
the neighbouring provinces, and imposing on them consti- 
tutions modeled after the same form. 

Within little more than a month after the intelligence of 
these arrangements reached America, it was communicat- 
ed from state to state : and a flame was kindled in almost 
every breast, through the widely-extended provinces. 

In order to understand the mode by which this feeling 
was spread, with so great rapidity, over so large an extent 
of country, it is necessary to observe, that the several colo- 
nies were divided into counties, and these subdivided into 
districts. Accordingly, under the association formed to 
oppose the revenue act of 1767, committees had been estab- 
lished, not only in the capitals of every province, but in 
most of the subordinate divisions ; an important and indis- 
pensable means of union, which was at this period revived. 

The British cabinet had no sooner finally resolved on 
closing the port of Boston, than they determined to order 
thither a large military force. General Gage, the com- 
mander-in-chief of North America, was sent, in the addi- 
tional capacity of governor of Massachusetts ; and, soon 
afterwards, two regiments of foot, with a detachment of ar 
tillery, arrived ; and re-enforcements from Ireland, New 
York, Halifax, and Quebec. 

Hitherto, Boston had been the seat of commerce and 
plenty. The scene was now reversed ; and every class was 
affected by the change. The income of landholders either 
entirely ceased, or was much diminished : the immense 
property expended on stores and wharves, was rendered 
useless. Labourers, artificers, and others, employed 
in the numerous occupations arising from an extensive 
trade, felt the general calamity ; a calamity rendered more 
intolerable, from the recollection of past enjoyments. Yet r 
all these inconveniences and hardships were borne with in- 
vincible fo^tude. Their determination to persist in the 
same line of conduct which had been the occasion of their 
sufferings, was unabated. If they had not a prospect of 
mercy fiom their oppressors, they had the consolation of 
sympathy from their friends. Addresses poured in from 
corporate towns, town meetings, and provincial assemblies, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



99 



applauding their conduct; and aid was provided, to sup- 
port their perseverance. Marblehead generously offered 
to Boston the use of her harbour, wharves, and warehouses, 
and the personal attendance of her people, free of expense : 
and Salem, with a magnanimous self-denial, to which com- 
mercial annals afford no parallel, refused to adopt the trade 
of the devoted town, and build its fortune upon the wreck , 
of a suffering neighbour. i 

Affairs rapidly approached the crisis. Both parties tend- 
ed towards the awful collision with accelerating progress. 
The proceedings and apparent disposition of the people, 
together with the military preparations daily making 
through the province, induced general Gage to fortify the 
neck of land which joins Boston to the continent, and to 
seize the powder lodged in the arsenal at Charlestown. 
This excited a most violent ferment. Several thousand 
people assembled at Cambridge ; who were with difficulty 
restrained from marching immediately to Boston, to de- 
mand a return of the powder, and, in case of a refusal, to 
attack the troops. 

During the confusion, a rumour went abroad, that the 
royal fleet and military were firing upon Boston. In less than 
twenty-four hours, thirty thousand Americans were in arms, 
marching towards the town : other risings of the people 
took place, in different parts of the colony ; whose violence 
was so great, that, in a short time, all who had taken an 
active part in favour of Great Britain, were obliged to 
screen themselves in the capital. 

A provincial congress now assembled at Concord, chose 
John Hancock president, and remonstrated with the gov- 
ernor against his hostile proceedings on Boston Neck. 
Their admonitions were unavailing. In consequence, they 
resolved to enlist a number of the inhabitants, who were 
obliged to turn out at " a minute's warning," and over 
whom, and the militia, they commissioned as general offi- 
cers, Messrs. Pribble, Ward, Pomeroy, Thomas, and Heath. 

As the winter approached, general Gage ordered bar- 
racks to be erected for his troops ; but, so powerful was the 
influence of the popular leaders, that the workmen desisted 
from fulfilling his wishes, though their wages would have 
been regularly paid. An application to New York was 
equally unsuccessful ; and similar obstructions were thrown 
in the way of getting even clothing for the winter. The 
merchants of the latter city answered, that they would never 
supply any article for the benefit of men sent to the country 



100 



HISTORY OF 



as enemies. The farmers in Massachusetts were discouraged 
from selling them straw, timber, boards, and such articles 
of convenience. The first, when purchased for the royal 
service, was frequently overturned : vessels with brick were 
sunk, and carts with wood overturned. 

Measures of a still more decisive character were taken. 
At Newport, in Rhode Island, the people seized and re- 
moved from the public battery, about forty pieces of can- 
non ; and at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, a company 
of volunteers, headed by John Sullivan and John Langdon, 
having attacked the royal castle, secured the garrison, un» 
til they got possession of the powder. Cannon-balls and 
other munitions of war, were carried frorr "Boston to places 
of safety in the country, through the English guards, in carts 
apparently loaded with manure ; and powder was conveyed 
in the panniers and baskets of persons returning from the 
market. 

Meanwhile, on the 5th of September, a general congress 
of the American states assembled in Philadelphia. Their 
place of meeting was Carpenter's Hall ; their president^ 
Peyton Randolph of Virginia ; their secretary, Charles 
Thomson of Pennsylvania. Twelve colonies were now re- 
presented ; comprising all the old British settlements ex- 
cept Georgia : which, from prudential reasons, satisfactory 
to the others, had not elected deputies. This august body, 
combining the first virtue and talent in the colonies, en- 
tered into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non- 
exportation agreement, prepared addresses to the people 
and the sovereign of Great Britain, as well as to all the in- 
habitants of North America ; and directed their attention 
to every means of averting the dreadful calamity of civil 
war. These addresses, which were drawn under the im- 
mediate dictation of Messrs. Livingston and Jay ; Adams, 
Johnson, John Dickinson, and Rutledge ; are distinguished 
for their pure and constitutional principles, and command- 
ing energy of style. 

Having, in the following month, finished their important 
business, they dissolved ; after recommending that another 
congress should be held on the 10th of May, in the ensuing 
year, in case a redress of their grievances was not previous- 
ly obtained. 

Impressed with a lively feeling of the sweets of liberty, 
and a high respect for the members of the late assembly, 
the greatest zeal was evinced, by a large majority of the 
people, to comply with their determinations. While ths 



THE UNITED STATES. 



101 



forms of the old government subsisted, a new and inde- 
pendent authority was really established. It was so gener- 
ally the sense of the people, that the public good required 
a compliance with the recommendations of congress, that 
any man who discovered anxiety about the continuance of 
trade, was viewed as a selfish individual, preferring his own 
interest to the good of his country. But the intemperate 
zeal of the populace frequently transported them so far be- 
yond the limits of moderation, as to apply unjustifiable 
punishments to persons who contravened the general opin- 
ion of the community. Some were placed beneath a pump, 
and underwent forcible ablation ; others, after being smear- 
ed with tar, were rolled in feathers, and, in this state, ex- 
posed to the ridicule of the spectators : yet, a more com- 
mon mode, was to treat them with contempt and scorn ; 
arising, in particular cases, to an exclusion from all social 
intercourse ; and to placard their names, w T ith the appella- 
tions of tories, traitors, cowards, and enemies. 

When the British parliament assembled, the king, in his 
speech, dwelt strongly on the tumultuous proceedings in 
Massachusetts. An address from the commons, in reply, 
recommending the punishment of that colony, brought on, 
as usual, a spirited debate. In the house of lords, a con- 
ciliatory plan was offered by the venerable Chatham, and 
supported by all the force of his unrivalled eloquence. But, 
in both cases, the ministerial benches overthrew the oppo- 
sition, by a large majority ; and petitions, in favour of pa- 
cific measures, from the chief manufacturing and commer- 
cial towns, were consigned to dishonourable oblivion. This 
line of conduct was not indeed very wonderful. The min- 
ister received all his information respecting the colonial 
ferment from agents in America, who, in the true spirit of 
lord Chesterfield's system of flattery and deceit, transmitted 
their reports in accordance with the preconceptions of their 
employers. The maxim which teaches the hearing of both 
parties, is seldom found within the precincts of a court. 
Upon such representations, a bill was passed, to restrain 
the general commerce of the colonies : from which law 
however, New York, Delaware, and North Carolina, were 
exempted, apparently to create disunion ; and at the same 
time the determination was matured, of arresting the 
progress of American disaffection by an overwhelming 
army. 

But the ministers were again defeated. The golden har- 
vest thus offered to these three, was suffered to fall unreap- 
9* 



102 



HISTORY OF 



\)d : and preparations on the one side were answered by in- 
Jistments on the other. The coercive measures of the pa- 
rent state inclined the colonies to extend their claims. Ha- 
tred took the place of kind affections, and the calamities 
of war were substituted for the benefits of commerce. 

Meanwhile, the leading men of Massachusetts were, with 
admirable prudence and address, preparing for the last ex- 
tremity. They were furnishing the people with arms, and 
training the militia. They had also stored munitions of 
war in several places, particularly at Concord, about twen 
ty miles from Boston. These, general Gage now deter- 
mined to destroy. He wished to prevent hostilities, by 
depriving the inhabitants of the means of conducting war: 
for, though zealous in his royal master's service, he dis- 
covered a prevailing desire for a peaceable accommodation ; 
and, wishing to accomplish his object without bloodshed, 
took every precaution to effect it by surprise. At eleven 
yj*]^ o'clock at night, on the 18th of April, eight hundred 
grenadiers and light infantry marched for Concord, 
under the command of colonel Smith. But neither the 
secrecy with which this expedition was designed, nor the 
silent hour chosen for its march, was sufficient to conceal 
the intelligence of its movements from the country militia. 
About two in the ensuing morning, a hundred and thirty 
of the Lexington corps, under captain Parker, had assem- 
bled in that town, to oppose them. These, however, from 
the uncertainty as to the British soldiers appearing, were 
dismissed; with orders to muster again at beat of drum. 
Between four and five in the morning, seventy of their 
number had again collected ; and, soon afterwards, the Eng- 
lish regulars approached. The officer who led the ad- 
vanced guard, rode up to the militia, and called out ; " Dis- 
perse, you rebels ; throw down your arms, and disperse." 
They still however continued in* a body : on which, he dis- 
charged his pistol, and ordered his soldiers to fire. This 
was done with a huzza. The militia returned a few shots ; 
three or four of their number were killed on the green; 
and a few more when dispersing. The royal detachment 
then proceeded to Concord ; where they disabled two can 
non, and destroyed the public stores. Here, they experi- 
enced farther opposition. They were assailed by a party 
if militia, under colonel Barrett, were allowed not a mo- 
ment for refreshment, and began a retreat towards Boston. 
This was conducted with expedition. The adjacent inhabit- 
ants haa assembled in arms, and attacked them in e TT ery 



THE UNITED STATES. 103 



quarter. At Lexington, the royalists were joined by nine 
hundred men under lord Percy, sent out by general Gage 
to their support ; which re-enforcement, having two pieces 
of cannon, awed the provincials, and kept them at a greater 
distance ; but they continued a constant, though irregular 
fire, which did great execution. A little after sunset, the 
regulars reached Bunker's Hill, worn down by excessive 
fatigue, and smarting with their wounds ; having marched 
that day between thirty and forty miles, and been employed 
during their retreat in an uninterrupted battle. On the next 
day, they crossed Charlestown ferry, and returned to Bos- 
ton. Their loss was sixty-five killed, besides two hundred 
and eight wounded and made prisoners ; that of the provin- 
cials, fifty killed, and thirty-eight wounded and missing. 

Intelligence that the British troops had marched out of 
Boston into the country, on some hostile purpose, being 
forwarded from one committee to another, great bodies of 
the militia, not only of Massachusetts, but of the adjacent 
colonies, grasped their arms and flew to o$er battle. The 
Americans who had fallen were revered by their country. 
Resentment against the British burned m'>re strongly than 
before. The forts, magazines, and arsenaJs, which, by the 
constitution of the country, had been in possession of the 
king, were, for the most part, seized by the provincial mili- 
tia. Ticonderoga was surprised and taken by advepturers 
from different states, under the direction of colonels Allen 
and Arnold ; Crown Point was captured by colonel Warner; 
and provincial money, which had been collected in conse- 
quence of previous grants, was appropriated to the com- 
mon cause. 

Hitherto, the Americans had no regular army. The 
congress of Massachusetts, tht,n assembled at Watertown, 
ten miles from Boston, immediately after the battle of Lex- 
ington, voted, that thirty thousand men should be raised, 
in the New England colonies. In consequence, the busi- 
ness of recruiting was begun ; and, in a short time, an army, 
under the command of general Ward, was paraded in the 
vicinity of Boston, much superior in number to the royal 
troops. 

These military arrangements, were not confined to the 
New England states. They were general throughout the 
colonies. Arms and ammunition, forts and fortifications, 
were secured by the Americans, and money was coined foi 
their support. But the amount of money was extremely 
small; their forces were almost wholly destitute of experi 



104 



HISTORY OF 



enced leaders ; the arms and ammunition, lamentably defi- 
cient. When, however, they viewed the comparative 
smallness of their funds, they relied on mutual confidence 
for extension : when they reflected on their want of discip- 
line, they looked for success from their courage. Paper 
money was issued for the common benefit ; the pulpit, the 
press, the bench, and the bar, laboured to unite the people, 
and animate them to resistance. 

About the latter end of May, a great part of the re-en- 
forcements ordered from Great Britain arrived at Boston. 
Three British generals, Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, 
whose conduct in the preceding war had gained them high 
reputation, came over about the same time. Thus strength- 
ened, general Gage prepared for acting with more decision ; 
but, before he proceeded to extremities, he issued a procla- 
mation, holding forth the alternatives of peace or war ; by 
offering pardon to all who would lay down their arms, and 
return to their respective occupations. From this indul- 
gence, however, were excepted, Samuel Adams and John 
Hancock, Their ofTences were said to be of too flagitious a 
nature, to admit of any other consideration than the severest 
punishment. 

As martial law was at the same time proclaimed, it was 
supposed that those measures were a prelude to open war. 
Accordingly, the Americans made preparations for the 
event. A considerable height, named Bunker's Hill, at 
the entrance of the peninsula of Charlestown, was so situ- 
ated, as to render its possession a matter of great import- 
ance, to either of the contending parties. Orders were 
therefore issued, by the provincial commanders, that colo- 
nel Prescott, with a detachment of a thousand men, should 
intrench upon its summit. But, in fulfilling the orders, an 
en or was committed. Instead of Bunker's, they intrench- 
ed on Breed's Hill : high and large like the other, but situ- 
ated a few hundred yards nearer to Boston. With so much 
diligence did they work, that, between midnight and the 
dawn of morning, on the seventeenth of June, they had 
thrown up a redoubt, forming a square of eight rods ; and 
so profound a silence was observed, that they were not 
heard by the British on board their vessels, though at a 
very trifling distance. The first information was given 
tnem when the rising sun beamed against the works, which 
filled them with amazement. An incessant firing was im- 
mediately directed against the heights. The provincials 
bore it with veteran firmness, and continued to labour until 



THE UNITED STATES. 



105 



they had thrown up a small breastwork, extending from 
the east side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill. As 
this eminence overlooked Boston, general Gage thought 
it necessary to have possession : about noon, therefore, he 
detached for this purpose generals Howe and Pi got, with 
the flower of his army and a body of marines ; making in 
the whole nearly three thousand men. 

In the meantime, the Americans, for their further se- 
curity, in the interval between the extremity of their trench 
and Mystic river, pulled up some post and rail fences, set 
them dowri in two parallel rows, at a small distance from 
each other, and filled the intervening space with hay. 
General Putnam, an old officer of Connecticut, directed in 
chief, aided by Pomeroy and Nolten of the same province, 
Starke of New Hampshire, and Joseph Warren, a physician 
of Massachusetts. 

The king's troops formed in two lines, and advanced 
slowly, to give their artillery time to destroy the American 
works. This allowed the provincials a better opportunity 
for taking aim. They in general reserved their fire, until 
the assailants were within sixty yards, and then commenced 
a furious discharge of small-arms, loaded with balls and 
buck-shot. The stream of the American fire was so in- 
cessant, and did so great execution, that the royal troops 
retreated in disorder and precipitation. Their officers ral- 
lied them, and impelled them forward with their swords ; 
but they renewed the attack with much reluctance. The 
Americans again reserved their fire, and put them a second 
time to flight. General Howe and his officers redoubled 
their exertions, and pushed on their men, who were as re- 
luctant as before. At this critical juncture, generals Clin- 
ton and Burgoyne hastened from Boston with a re-enforce- 
ment, the powder of the Americans began to fail, and 
their fire proportionably to slacken. The British brought 
some cannon to bear ; which raked the inside of the breast- 
works, from end to end : the fire from the ships and batte- 
ries was increased ; and the redoubt was attacked on three 
sides at once. Under these circumstances, a retreat from 
it was ordered ; but the provincials delayed, and made so 
long resistance, with the butts of their discharged muskets, 
the greater part being without bayonets, that the king's 
troops had half filled the redoubt, before it was abandoned. 

It was apprehended, that the enemy would improve their 
advantage, by marching immediately to the American head 
quarters at Cambridge ; but they advanced no farther than 



106 



HISTORY OF 



Bunker's Hill. There, they threw up works for their own 
security. The provincials did the same, on Prospect Hill, 
about a mile distant, in their front. Both were guarding 
against an attack ; and both were in a bad condition to re- 
ceive one. 

Few battles, in modern wars, produced a greater destruc- 
tion of men, than this short engagement. The loss of the 
British was one thousand and fifty-four ; amongst whom, 
were nineteen officers killed, and seventy wounded. None 
of the provincials had rifles : but they were good marks- 
men, and aimed chiefly at the officers ; which accounts for 
so unusual a destruction of the latter. The Americans lost, 
in killed, wounded, and missing, four hundred and fifty. 
Their number, at the commencement of the battle, was fif- 
teen hundred ; only half the amount of the assailants. They 
particularly lamented the death of general Warren ; a man, 
who, to the purest patriotism and most undaunted bravery, 
added the virtues of domestic life, the eloquence of an ac- 
complished orator, and the wisdom of an able statesman. 
He was killed in the retreat. Finding his corps hotly pur- 
sued by the enemy, despising all danger, he stood alone 
before the ranks, endeavouring to rally his troops, and en- 
courage them by his example. He pointed to their ensigns, 
and reminded them of their cheering mottos. An English 
officer perceived him, and knew him ; and, having borrow- 
ed a musket, and hit him with a ball, he fell dead upon the 
spot. 

While the engines of war were employed on each side 
in the business of death, the property of the Americans was 
yielding, within view, to the consuming flames. As the 
British were advancing to the attack, they received orders, 
through a military policy, to burn Charlestown ; and, in a 
short time, this ancient place, consisting of five hundred 
buildings, chiefly of wood, was in one great blaze. The 
lofty steeple of the meeting-house formed a pyramid of fire, 
and struck the astonished eyes of numerous beholders with 
an awful spectacle. 

Congress, agreeably with an arrangement made before 
its dissolution in the preceding year, had assembled at Phil- 
adelpnia, on the 10th of May. They again chose Mr. Pey- 
ton Randolph president ; and, on his being under the ne- 
cessity of returning home, Mr. Hancock. When they re- 
ceived a report of the affair at Lexington, they issued di- 
rections for retaliating commercial distress on Britain ; and, 
with their accustomed tone of moderation, dignity, and firm- 



THE UNITED STATES. 107 



ness, proceeded in the general business of the colonies. 
Once more, they addressed the king, as well as the inhabit- 
ants of Great Britain and Ireland ; and, at the same time, 
published to the world the reasons of their appeal to arms 
" We are reduced," said they, " to the alternative of choos- 
ing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated 
ministers, or resistance by force. The latter is our choice. 
We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing 
so dreadful as voluntary slavery." 

The next object was a suitable person to conduct their 
armies. In deciding this important question, there was 
only one opinion throughout the provinces. George Wash- 
ington was appointed, by congress, commander-in-chief of 
all the forces at that time raised, or afterwards to be embodied. 

For three years subsequent to the defeat of Braddock, 
Washington superintended the troops of Virginia ; in which 
highly dangerous service, he continued, until peace was 
given to the frontiers of his native colony, by the reduction 
of Fort Duquesne ; an enterprise undertaken in conformity 
with his repeated solicitations, and accompanied by himself, 
at the head of his own regiment. The arduous duties of his 
situation, rendered irksome by the invidious treatment ex- 
perienced from the governor, and by the unmanageable dis- 
position of the officers and privates under his command, 
were related by himself, in a highly interesting narrative, 
and fully acknowledged by the assembly of Virginia. Soon 
afterwards, he retired to his estate at Mount Vernon, and 
pursued the arts of peaceful life, with great industry and 
success. When the proceedings of the British parliament 
had alarmed the colonists with apprehensions that a blow 
was leveled at their liberties, he again came forward to 
serve the public ; was appointed a delegate to congress ; 
and, in that body, was chairman of every committee selected 
to make arrangements for defence. He was now in his forty- 
fourth year, possessed a large share of common sense, and 
was directed by a sound judgment. Engaged in the busy 
scenes of life, he knew human nature, and the most proper 
method of accomplishing his plans. His passions were 
subdued, and held in subjection to reason. His mind was 
superior to prejudice and party spirit ; his soul, too gener- 
ous, to burthen his country with expense ; his principles, 
too just, to allow his placing military glory in competition 
with the public good. 

On the president of congress announcing his commission, 
he replied : " Though I am truly sensible of the high honour 



108 



HISTORY OF 



done me in this appointment, yet, I feel great distress 
from a consciousness, that my abilities and military experi- 
ence may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. 
However, as the congress desire it, 1 will enter on the mo- 
mentous duty, and exert every power I possess, in their ser- 
vice, for the support of the glorious cause. I beg they will 
accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testi- 
mony of their 'approbation. But, lest some unlucky event 
should happen, unfavourable to my reputation, I beg it 
may be remembered, by every gentleman in the room, that 
I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think 
myself equal to the command I am honoured with. As to 
pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the congress, that, as no pe- 
cuniary consideration could have "tempted me to accept 
this arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic 
ease and happiness, I do not w T ish to make any profit from 
it. I will keep an exact account of my disbursements ; 
those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I de- 
sire." 

In subordination to the commander-in-chief, four major- 
generals, one adjutant-general, and eight brigadier-gene- 
rals, were appointed. The first were, Messrs. Ward, 
Charles Lee, Schuyler, and Putnam : the commission of ad- 
jutant-general was given to Horatio Gates : the brigadier- 
generals were Messrs. Pomeroy, Montgomery, and Wooster ; 
Heath, Spencer, Thomas, Sullivan, and Greene. Lee and 
Gates were natives of England, and had gained considerable 
reputation in the British army. 

Even the women w r ere desirous of signalizing their zeal 
in defence of their country. In Bucks county, Pennsylva- 
nia, they raised and equipped a regiment at their own ex- 
pense, and armed those who were unable to bear the charge. 
The lady who presented the colours, embroidered with ap- 
propriate mottos by her own hands, made an eloquent ha- 
rangue, exhorting the soldiers never to desert the banners 
of the American fair, 
y | ^ When general Washington joined the army at 
y Cambridge, he found the British intrenched on 
Bunker's Hill ; having three floating batteries on Mystic 
river, and a twenty gun ship below the ferry, between Bos- 
ton and Charlestown. They had also a battery on Copse's 
Hill, and strong fortifications on the Neck. The Americans 
were intrenched at Winter Hill, Prospect Hill, and Roxbu- 
ry ; with posts of communication extending over a distance 
of ten miles, and small parties stationed in several towns 



THE UNITED STATES. 109 



along the sea-coast. Every thing essential to an army, ex- 
cept courage, was wanting in the patriot army. They had 
neither engineers to plan suitable works, nor sufficient tools 
to erect them. Instead of tents, the soldiers were only par- 
tially covered with sails ; now useless to the mariner, from 
the obstructions of commerce. They had no commissaries : 
individuals brought to camp their own provisions, on their 
own horses : — nor, uniformity of dress : the hunting shirt 
was introduced, to abolish provincial distinctions. On the 
4th of August, the whole stock of powder in the American 
camp, and in all the public magazines of New England, 
would have made little more than nine rounds. A supply 
of several thousand pounds weight was soon afterwards ob- 
tained from Africa. Domestic rum was sent thither, in 
charge of confidential agents ; who proceeded with so much 
address, that every ounce for sale in the British forts on the 
African coast, was purchased and brought off for the use of 
their opponents in America. Some fearless patriots of 
South Carolina in the following year boarded an English 
vessel at St. Augustine ; from which, they obtained fifteen 
thousand pounds : and a large quantity was manufactured 
at Philadelphia ; where a single mill produced five hundred 
pounds each week. 

The continental army, placed under the command of 
Washington, amounted to fourteen thousand five hundred 
men. These had been so judiciously stationed around Bos- 
ton, as to confine the British in the town, and exclude them 
from the provisions afforded in the adjacent country and the 
islands in the bay. They were now arranged in three grand 
divisions. General Ward commanded the right wing, at 
Roxbury ; general Lee, the left, at Prospect Hill ; and the 
centre, the head quarters of which were at Cambridge, was 
under the immediate command of Washington himself. The 
military skill of adjutant-general Gates, in his particular 
department, was eminently conspicuous. He introduced 
punctuality and method, taught the officers and privates to 
know their respective places, and to have the mechanism 
as well as movements of an army. 

Having thus accomplished a respectable beginning upon 
land, the continental energies were directed also to another 
element, the sea. In November, the Massachusetts assem- 
bly and the general congress resolved to fit out armed ves- 
sels, to cruise on the American coast ; for the purpose of 
intercepting warlike stores and supplies destined for the 
British armv. The object was at first limited to these ; but 9 
10 



110 



HISTORY OF 



as the prospect of accommodation receded, it was extended 
to all British property afloat. The Americans were aiffi- 
dent of their ability to effect any thing on water, againsc the 
naval power of England, the greatest in the world. But 
even their earliest attempts were successful, and inspired 
them with confidence to venture on a larger scale. The 
Lee privateer, under the direction of captain Manly, took 
an ordnance vessel from Woolwich, containing a large brass 
mortar, several pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of 
small arms and ammunition, warlike tools, utensils, and 
machines ; a cargo so appropriate, that, had congress sent 
an order for supplies, they could not have made a list of ar- 
ticles more suitable to their present wants. Scarcely had 
the first joyful impressions caused by this relief subsided, 
when Manly gave additional proofs of successful vigilance. 
Within a few days, he captured three other vessels, laden 
with various stores from England, and one ship from Anti- 
gua, with rum. Invigorated by this promise of important 
aid from a new field of enterprise, congress determined to 
create a national marine ; and gave orders for building five 
vessels of thirty-two, five of twenty-eight, and three of 
twenty-four guns, -each. 

About this time, one of the sea-port towns of Massachu- 
setts suffered a melancholy devastation. Falmouth, con- 
taining upwards of four hundred dwelling-houses and stores, 
was totally destroyed, by shells and red-hot shot ; thrown 
into it without intermission, during a whole day, from a 
ship of eighteen guns, commanded by captain Moet. 

The seizure of Ticonderoga and other places on the lakes 
adjoining Canada, in which enterprise, colonel Arnold bore 
a distinguished part, has been already mentioned. Encour- 
aged by the success of his first essay in the field, this am- 
bitious officer lost no time in projecting more extensive 
operations. He wrote a letter to congress, strongly urging 
an expedition into Canada, and offering, with two thousand 
men, to reduce the whole province. In his zeal to oppose 
Great Britain, or satiate his desire of glory, he had advised 
the adoption of offensive war, even before congress had or- 
ganized an army, or appointed a single officer. His impor- 
tunity, however, together with a belief that the Canadians 
were, in general, discontented with their government, in- 
duced that body to adopt his daring project. But, though 
they acquiesced in his opinion, they did not invest him with 
the command. The arrangements in the northern depart- 
ment were committed to generals Schuyler and Montgorne- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



Ill 



ry : the former was stationed at Albany, to conclude a treaty 
with the Indians ; the latter was sent forward to Ticon 
deroga, with a body of troops from New York and New 
England. 

The nearest British post in Canada was St. John's ; situ- 
ated about a hundred miles to the north of Ticonderoga : 
which, since the fall of the latter and Crownpoint, was just- 
ly considered as the key of that province. Against this, 
Montgomery erected a battery ; but, on account of the 
scarcity of ammunition, was not likely to succeed in its re- 
duction, until, by the capture of fort Chamblee, a post a few 
miles below St. John's, on the same river, he obtained a 
large supply of powder. In the meantime, a British force, 
in number about eight hundred, chiefly Indians and militia, 
when attempting to relieve St. John's, by crossing the river 
St. Lawrence opposite to Louqueil, were compelled to re- 
tire with considerable loss, by three hundred Green Moun- 
tain men, under the command of colonel Warner. This 
affair decided the fate of the besieged. Five hundred 
regulars and one hundred Canadians surrendered to Mont- 
gomery ; with forty-eight pieces of artillery, and eight hun- 
dred stand of arms. The advantage gained by the invad- 
ers was, however, in a small degree lessened, by the cap- 
ture of the brave colonel Allen and a party of eighty men, 
when on a tour of observation, near Montreal. But the 
enemy were allowed only a short period to enjoy the satis- 
faction of this trifling acquisition. Pursuing his good 
fortune, general Montgomery immediately appeared before 
Montreal, and, on the 13th of November, obtained a sur- 
render of the place, together with general Prescott and the 
garrison : besides eleven sail of vessels, laden with ammu- 
nition, provisions, intrenching tools, and every thing re- 
quired for the clothing and comfort of his army. General 
Carleton, the commander-in-chief and governor of Canada, 
very narrowly escaped being taken. Being blockaded in 
that part of the St. Lawrence which lies between the city 
and the mouth of the river Sore], he threw himself into a 
boat, and, aided by muffled oars and the obscurity of the 
night, had the good fortune to pass the American guards. 

After leaving some troops in Montreal, Montgomery, 
with little more than three hundred men, proceeded for the 
capital, Quebec. But his situation was now very embar 
rassing. " Much to be pitied," observes a cotemporary 
writer, " is the officer, who, having been bred to arms in 
the strict discipline of regular armies, is afterwards called 



112 



HISTORY OF 



to command men who carry with them the spirit of free- 
dom into the field. The greater part of the Americans, 
officers as well as privates, having never before seen any 
service, were ignorant of their duty, and feebly impressed 
with the military ideas of union, subordination, and disci- 
pline. They were soon tired of a military life. Novelty, 
and the first impulse of passion, had led them to the camp ; 
but the approaching cold season, together with the fatigues 
and dangers incident to war, induced a general wish to re- 
linquish the service. Though, by the terms of inlistment, 
they were to be discharged in a few weeks, they could not, 
even for that short space of time, bear an absence from 
their homes." 

About the same time that Canada was invaded by the 
usual route from New York, a considerable detachment of 
the American army was brought thither by a new and unex- 
pected passage. Arnold, who conducted this bold under- 
taking, acquired, thereby, the name of the American Han- 
nibal. He was sent, by general Washington, with a thou- 
sand men, from Cambridge ; with orders to penetrate into 
that province by ascending the river Kennebeck, and then, 
after crossing the mountains which divide Canada from 
Maine, by descending the Chaudiere, to the St. Lawrence. 
Great, were the difficulties, and severe the deprivations, 
they had to encounter, in marching, three hundred miles, 
by an unexplored way, through an uninhabited country. 
In ascending the Kennebeck, they were constantly obliged 
to straggle against an impetuous current; were often com- 
pelled, by cataracts, to land, and haul their batteaux up 
rapid streams, and over falls of rivers. They had to con- 
tend with swamps, woods, and craggy mountains. At 
some places, they had to cut their way, for miles together, 
through forests, so embarrassed, that their progress was 
only four or five miles a day. One third of their number 
were, from sickness and want of food, obliged to return. 
Provisions grew at length so scarce, that some of the men 
eat their dogs, cartouch-boxes, leather small-clothes, and 
shoes. Still, they proceeded with unabated fortitude. 
They gloried in the hope of completing a march, which 
would rival the greatest exploits of antiquity ; and, on the 
third of November, after thirty-one days spent in traversing 
a hideous desert, they reached the inhabited parts of Cana- 
da, where, the people, struck with amazement and admira- 
tion when they saw this armed force emerging from the 



* 



THE UNITED STATES. 113 

wilderness, received them with kind attention, and supplied 
them with every thing requisite for their comfort. 

A manifesto, subscribed by general Washington, which 
had been sent with this detachment, was circulated amongst 
the Canadians. They were informed, that the American 
army came, not as enemies, but friends ; not to plunder, 
but to protect them : and were invited to arrange themselves 
under the common standard of security and freedom. 

So favourable were the prospects of the united colonies at 
this period, that general Montgomery began to form a 
regiment of Canadians. James Livingston, a native of New 
York, who had long resided in Canada, was appointed to 
command them. The inhabitants, on both sides of the river, 
were very friendly. Expresses, in the employment of the 
Americans, continued to pass without molestation between 
Montreal and Quebec ; before which place, Arnold had 
now arrived. Many individuals performed important ser- 
vices in favour of the invaders. Amongst those, Mr. Price 
stands conspicuous ; having advanced them, in gold and 
silver money, five thousand pounds. 

On the 13th of November, the fifth night after his ap- 
pearance before Quebec, Arnold crossed the St. Lawrence, 
in hopes of entering the fortress by assault. But his chance 
of succeeding, by this mode, was, in that short space of 
time, greatly diminished. The critical moment, by un- 
avoidable delay, was then lost ; the panic, occasioned by 
his first appearance, had abated ; and solid preparations 
were made for its defence ; w T herefore, having no artillery, 
after surmounting the craggy precipice which had been as- 
cended by general Wolfe, and drawing up his little band near 
the plains of Abraham, he withdrew ; and, until the arrival 
of Montgomery, aimed at nothing more than to cut off sup- 
plies from the garrison. 

This officer at length joined the blockading army, sum- 
moned the garrison to surrender, without effect, soon after- 
wards commenced a bombardment, and opened a six-gun 
battery ; but his metal was too light. Defended by the 
united fortifications of art and nature, Quebec, the last Ca- 
nadian post remaining to the British, stood uninjured. Ani- 
mated by the presence, and directed by the counsel of the 
governor, sir Guy Carleton, the garrison could not be wea- 
ried to submission. The fate of the besiegers was becom- 
ing dangerous. Towards the end of the year, the tide of 
fortune began to turn. Dissensions threatened the annihi 
lation of discipline ; resources were every day declining 
10 * 



114 



HISTORY OF 



fatigue weakened the bodies, and depressed the spirits o£ 
the men. Difficulties of every kind were rapidly increasing. 
The alternatives must be decided, of immediate retreat, or 
an attempt to enter the place by storm. Montgomery de- 
termined on the latter; though it was an undertaking in 
which success was barely possible, and despair seemed 
triumphant over hope. 

The garrison numbered fifteen hundred, the assailants 
only eight hundred men. Having divided this little force 
into four detachments, he ordered two feints to be made 
against the upper town ; one, by colonel Livingston, at the 
head of the Canadians, against St. John's gate ; the other, 
by major Brown, against Cape Diamond : reserving to him- 
self and colonel Arnold the two principal attacks against 
the lower town. On the last day of the year, at four o'clock 
in the morning, in the midst of a heavy storm of snow, the 
columns were put in motion. Montgomery passed the 
first barrier; but, when attacking the second, was killed, 
and his division was led back. Arnold, being severely 
wounded, was carried off the field : yet his party, placed 
under the conduct of captain (afterwards general) Morgan, 
contended amidst the works for three hours, until overpow- 
ered by superior numbers. One hundred Americans were 
killed, and three hundred made prisoners. 

Few men have fallen in battle so much regretted, by 
both sides, as general Montgomery. He had engaged in the 
American cause from principle ; and left the enjoyment of 
an easy fortune, in Ireland, and the highest domestic hap- 
piness, to take an active share in the dangers and fatigues 
of a war, instituted to defend a community of which he was 
an adopted member. 

Although the besiegers were so much weakened as to be 
scarcely equal to their own defence, Arnold, who succeeded 
Montgomery in the command, had the boldness to encamp 
within three miles of the town, and the address, even with 
his reduced numbers, to impede the conveyance of provis- 
ions into the garrison. His situation was extremely diffi- 
ult. His men were exposed, in the open air, when the 
snow lay four feet deep, and the rigours of a Canada winter 
assailed them with a severity beyond any degree which they 
had before experienced. 

But the failure of this enterprise did not extinguish 
the ardour of their countrymen. They yet retained 
hopes of reducing in that quarter the English power. Gen- 
eral Washington arranged measures to embody for the ser- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



vice of the north three regiments in New Hampshire ; and 
congress resolved to forward the re-enforcements previously 
voted, as well as to raise four battalions in New York. 
That the army might be supplied with blankets for this win- 
ter expedition, a committee was appointed to procure, from 
householders, all that could be spared from their families. 
To obtain a supply of hard money, proper persons were 
employed to exchange paper notes for coin ; and such was 
the enthusiasm of the times, that many thousand silver 
dollars were frequently given at par for the bills of congress. 
No means of insuring success were overlooked. The cause 
of the x\mericans had received so powerful aid from the 
publications in their own gazettes, and from the fervent ex- 
hortations of popular preachers, which connected the cause 
of liberty with the animating sentiments of religion, that it 
was determined to employ those two powerful engines of re- 
volution, printing and preaching, to operate on the minds 
of the Canadians. Accordingly, a printer and a clergyman, 
with a complete apparatus, were sent into that province, 
also Dr. Franklin, Mr. Chase, and the Reverend Mr. John 
Carroll, of Maryland, a respectable clergyman of the Ro- 
man Catholic persuasion, (the prevailing doctrine of that 
country,) to invigorate the seeds of revolution ; by promising 
that Canada should be received into the colonial association 
on equal terms, that the inhabitants should enjoy the free 
exercise of their religion, and the quiet possession of their 
ecclesiastical estates. 

Yet, notwithstanding all these exertions to support the 
war in Canada, their interest there, after the fall of Mont- 
gomery, gradually declined. Their unsuccessful assault on 
Quebec, made an impression, both on the Canadians and 
Indians, unfavourable to their views ; and the reduction of 
that place now seemed an object to which their resources 
were inadequate. The inhabitants listened with jealous 
diffidence to the declarations in favour of protecting their 
religion. They reverted, with philosophic caution, to the 
early breaches of civil faith amongst their neighbours, in 
New England, and the stubborn animosity which theologi- 
cal collision, had every where produced. To render still 
weaker the chances of success, the small-pox found its way 
throughout the invading army ; and, owing to the limited 
practice of early inoculation at that period, was a serious 
calamity. It reduced their effective number from three 
thousand, to nine hundred men. While the forces of ihe 
one party were thus decreasing, and their spirit sinking by 



116 



HISTORY OF 



disease, those of the other were recruiting, their energies 
and hopes reviving. Determined to recover, without de- 
lay, the ground which they had lost, the British government 
suffered not a moment to elapse, after intelligence of these 
events arrived, before they despatched a numerous re-en- 
forcement for its relief; and, early in May, the van of this 
body made its way up the river St. Lawrence, through the 
ice. The besiegers immediately made preparations to re- 
treat. Carleton led out a detachment to attack them, and 
got possession of all their cannon and military stores : which, 
in their confusion, they had abandoned. Thus, at the end 
of five months' operations, the siege was raised after a 
.display of fortitude and perseverance, which reflects the 
highest honour on the officers and privates of both armies. 

From an enemy, the conduct of general Carleton merits 
distinguished praise. To the abilities of the accomplished 
soldier, by which he fulfilled an arduous duty to his country, 
he superadded the amiable qualities of a generous foe. The 
numerous sick in the American hospitals, unavoidably de- 
serted by their companions, he cherished with most tender 
care : he fed and clothed them, and, when recovered, per- 
mitted them to return ; and, by a humane proclamation, re- 
moved the fears of those who might possibly be scattered 
in the woods ; recommending them to go home, and apply 
themselves again to the peaceful labour of their farms. 

When the retreating army had reached the Sorel, and 
thrown up some slight works for their defence, they were 
joined by a few battalions who were marching to re-enforce 
them. General Thomas, the American commander in 
chief in Canada, having died, his commission devolved on 
Arnold, now advanced to the same rank : and afterwards 
on general Sullivan. But, notwithstanding their increase 
of numbers, it soon became evident that they must abandon 
the entire province ; yet, from a desire of doing something 
which would counterbalance, in the minds of the Canadians, 
the injurious effects of their retreat, an attack, planned by 
general Thompson, was made on the British post at the 
Three Rivers. The assailants, however, were repulsed 
Thompson and two hundred men were made prisoners 
and about twenty-five were killed. Soon afterwards, Carle- 
ton, at the head of the main body of the enemy, arrived, and 
commenced a serious pursuit. The retreat, nevertheless, 
was conducted by general Sullivan, with so much industry 
and judgment, that the baggage, cannon, and military stores, 
were brought off, and the numerous sick escorted to Crown 



THE UNITED STATES. 117 



Point ; where he arrived on the 1st of July, and made his 
first stand. 

At this period of the contest in the north, it becomes ne- 
cessary to view the transactions, which, in the meantime, 
had occurred at home. The first province that demands 
attention, is Virginia. The inhabitants in that quarter, 
though there was not a British soldier within its limits, 
were involved, by the indiscretion of its governor, lord 
Dunmore, in difficulties, little short of those which had as- 
sailed the people of Massachusetts. This officer, aided by a 
party from a royal vessel in James' River, having conveyed 
the powder from the colonial magazine at Williamsburg, by 
which conduct he brought upon himself the indignant fury 
of the people, threatened, in case of farther opposition, to 
enfranchise the negroes, and arm them against their for- 
mer masters. This irritated, but did not intimidate. A 
body of gentlemen, headed by Patrick Henry, compelled 
him to pay the value of the powder ; and so alarmed him, 
that he was induced to send his lady and family on board 
a man-of-war, and surround his palace with artillery. Af- 
fairs, thenceforward, grew daily more tempestuous. He 
retired from his dangerous habitation ; w 7 ith the aid of the 
royalists, runaway negroes, and some frigates, established 
a marine force, ravaged plantations, and at length attempt- 
ed to destroy Hampton by a cannonade ; but was driven off 
by the riflemen stationed on the shore. In a few days from 
this, he entered Norfolk ; but, after a skirmish at the great 
bridge, in which a party of British grenadiers were defeat- 
ed by the provincials, he abandoned the town, and again 
retired with his motley forces on board his ships. Nor- 
folk, however, survived only a short time this triumph ovei 
the royal governor. Provisions being withheld from the 
king's vessels in the harbour, the town, with all the pro- 
perty which it contained, amounting in the whole to more 
than a million of dollars, was, on the 1st of January, re- 
duced to ashes. 

Nor was the adjoining colony of North Carolina exempted 
from disturbance ; though in a less serious degree. The 
governor's party, there, was soon defeated, and he himself 
compelled to follow the example of Dunmoie, by retiring 
on board a ship. Similar retreats were maae by the royal 
governors of the other colonies ; except by Mr. Trumbull, 
of Connecticut, who espoused the American cause ; and, 
before the year expired, the regal authority had entirely 
ceased throughout the union. 



118 



HISTORY OF 



All this time, the British troops at Boston were suffering 
the inconvenience of a blockade ; and the blockading forces 
were equally impatient for want of employment. Accus- 
tomed to industry and motion on their farms, the latter could 
not patiently bear the inactivity and confinement of a camp. 
Fiery spirits declaimed in favour of an assault : they prefer- 
red a thoughtless enterprise, which might bring immediate 
glory, to passive fortitude and distant victory. To be in 
readiness for the attempt, a council of war recommended 
the assembling of seven thousand militia ; which, added to 
the regular army before Boston, would have made a force 
of about seventeen thousand men. But the Americans still 
laboured under a scarcity of arms and ammunition. Though 
great exertions had been made to manufacture gunpowder, 
and to collect arms throughout the interior, the supply was 
slow and inadequate. The eyes of all were now fixed on 
general Washington ; who, it was, notwithstanding, expect- 
ed, would, by a bold exertion, free Boston from the English 
troops. The dangerous situation of public affairs had led 
him to conceal his real deficiency of means ; and, with that 
magnanimity which distinguishes the virtuous patriot, but 
is often absent even from the brave, to suffer his character 
to be assailed, sooner than vindicate himself by exposing his 
army's weakness. There were not wanting persons, who, 
judging from the superior number of his men, asserted, 
that if he were not desirous, like the Marlborough of 
England, to prolong his importance at the head of an army, 
he might, by a vigorous attack, drive the enemy from Bos- 
ton. Such insinuations were reported, and, by several, be- 
lieved. But they were uncontradicted by Washington ; 
who chose to risk his fame, rather than expose the lives of 
his soldiers and the liberties of his country. 

The patient vigilance of the correct general at length 
gained a bloodless victory. Alarmed by the appearance of 
the besiegers on Dorchester heights, which, on the night of 
the 4th of March, had been fortified, under cover of a bom- 
bardment and cannonade, sir William Howe, leaving behind 
a large quantity of artillery and other munitions of war, 
evacuated Boston on the 17th, and sailed with his troops to 
Halifax. His retreat was not impeded by the blockading 
army ; lest an attack, at that period, might have caused him 
to burn the town. The embarkation of the British troops 
was scarcely finished, when general Washington with his 
army entered ; amidst marks of approbation and rejoicing 
more flattering than a Roman triumph. . 



THE UNITED STATES. 



119 



For some months past, every exertion had been made to 
place South Carolina, and especially its capital, Charleston, 
in a respectable posture of defence. Works were accord- 
ingly erected upon Sullivan's island ; which is situated so 
near the channel, as to be a convenient post for annoying 
vessels when attempting to approach the town. These 
proved a judicious precaution. The place had soon to with 
stand a formidable attack. On the 28th of June, a British 
admiral, sir Peter Parker, entered the harbour, with six 
frigates and four smaller ships of war ; mounting in the 
whole, two hundred and seventy guns, and having on board 
three thousand land-troops, under the command of sir Hen- 
ry Clinton. To oppose these, the fort had thirty-six guns, 
consisting of eighteen, twenty-four, and forty-two, pounders, 
manned by about four hundred militia and soldiers of the 
line, commanded by colonel Moultrie. This small garri- 
son made a most gallant and effectual defence. They fired 
with deliberation ; for the most part took aim ; and seldom 
missed their object. The ships were torn almost to pieces ; 
the killed and wounded on board exceeded two hundred 
men. The loss of the garrison was only ten men killed and 
twenty-two wounded. The fort being built of palmetto, 
was little damaged : the shot which struck it was buried in 
its soft wood. Colonel Thompson, with seven hundred 
men, was stationed at the east end of the island, to oppose 
the crossing of a British division, which had landed on Long 
Island, in their rear ; but, to effect that, no serious attempt 
was made. The firing ceased in the evening ; the vessels 
slipped their cables ; before morning, they had retired about 
two miles ; and, in a few days, the troops re-embarked, and 
the whole sailed for New York. 

Two grand objects of the British armaments were decid- 
ed ; one, to relieve Canada, which had been successful ; the 
other, to make a strong impression in the south, which end- 
ed in defeat. A third remained to be determined, — the 
possession of New York. The command of the force de- 
signed to operate against the latter, was given to admiral 
\ord Howe, and his brother, general sir William Howe ; 
officers, who, as well from their individual characters, as the 
known bravery of their family, stood high in ministerial 
confidence, and were commissioned either to subdue by the 
power of arms, or end the war by negotiation. The army 
amounted to thirty thousand men ; a force which exceeded 
any before seen in America, and was, besides, supported by 
a numerous fleet. 



120 



HISTORY OF 



Ok their approach, the enemy found every part of New 
York Island, and the most exposed parts of Long Island, 
fortified, and well defended by artillery. About fifty British 
transports anchored near Staten Island ; which had not been 
so much an object of protection. The inhabitants of this 
place, either through fear, or affection, or policy, expressed 
great joy on their arrival ; and many of them, joined by 
about sixty persons from New Jersey, were embodied as a 
royal militia. 

But, whatever might be the hopes of Britain to obtain a 
more absolute dominion over her colonies, by arms, the 
time had now passed, when even the ancient connexion could 
be retained, by negotiation. Offers of pardon were not 
less insulting, than inappropriate. A new era had arisen in 
the west. The link, which had, for ages, bound England 
to her rising progeny, was, by the corroding influence of 
evil ministers, severed from its ancient hold. The chain 
which had stretched its political radii, to their common cen- 
tre in Great Britain, now assumed a fresh arrangement, by 
attaching together the children in resistance to the parent. 
On the 4th of July, a few days after the arrival of this great 
armament, the congress at Philadelphia agreed on a declar- 
ation of Independence ; thereby, absolving the colonies 
from every allegiance to the crown of England. The mo- 
tion for this purpose, first made on the 7th of June, by 
Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, and seconded by John 
Adams, of Massachusetts, in conformity with the particu- 
lar instructions of the former's constituents and the general 
voice of all the states, was decided by an almost unani- 
mous vote. 

" WHEN, in the course of human events," says this 
celebrated document, — " it becomes necessary for one peo- 
ple to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
them with another, and to assume, among the powers of 
the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws 
of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent re- 
spect for the opinions of mankind requires that they should 
declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

" We hold these truths to be self-evident : — that all men 
are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain unalienable rights ; that, among these, are life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these 
rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving 
their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



121 



whenever any form of government becomes destructive of 
these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abol- 
ish it, and to institute a new government, laying its founda- 
tion on such principles, and organizing its powers in such 
form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safe- 
ty and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that gov- 
ernments long established should not be changed for light 
and transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath 
shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while 
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long 
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 
same object, evinces a design to reduce them under abso- 
lute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off 
such government, and to provide new guards for their future 
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these 
colonies ; and such is now the necessity which constrains 
them to alter their former systems of government. The 
history of the present king of Great Britain, is a history of 
repeated injuries and usurpations ; all having in direct ob- 
ject the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these 
states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid 
world. 

" He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome 
and necessary for the public good. 

" He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of imme- 
diate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their 
operation, till his assent should be obtained ; and, when so 
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He 
has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relin- 
quish the right of representation in the legislature — a right 
inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

" He has called together legislative bodies at- places un- 
usual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of 
their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them 
into compliance with his measures. 

" He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for 
opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights 
of the people. 

" He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, 
to cause others to be elected ; whereby, the legislative pow- 
ers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the pec pie 
at large, for their exercise ; the state remaining, in the 
11 



122 



HISTORY OF 



meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from with- 
out, and convulsions within. 

" He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these 
states ; for that purpose, obstructing the laws for naturaliza- 
tion of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their 
migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appro- 
priations of lands. 

" He has obstructed the administration of justice, by re- 
fusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

" He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the 
tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their 
salaries. 

" He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent 
hither swarms of officers, to harass our people, and eat out 
their substance. 

" He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing ar- 
mies, without the consent of our legislatures. 

" He has affected to render the military independent of, 
and superior to, the civil power. 

" He has combined with others to subject us to a juris- 
diction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by 
our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legis- 
lation f for quartering large bodies of armed troops among 
us : for protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment 
for any murders which they should commit on the inhabit- 
ants of these states : for cutting off our trade with all parts 
of the world : for imposing taxes on us without our consent : 
for depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
jury : for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pre- 
tended offences : for abolishing the free system of English 
laws in a neighbouring province, establishing therein an 
arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so a3 
to render it at once an example and fit instrument for in- 
troducing the same absolute rule into these colonies : for 
taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our govern- 
ments : for suspending our own legislatures, and declaring 
themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all 
cases whatsoever. 

" He has abdicated government here, by declaring us oat 
of his protection, and waging war against us. 

" He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt 
our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

" He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign 
mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and 



THE UNITED STATES. 



123 



tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and 
perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and 
totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

" He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive 
on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to be- 
come the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to 
fall themselves by their hands. 

" He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and 
has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers 
the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare 
is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and 
conditions. 

" In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned 
for redress, in the most humble terms : our repeated peti- 
tions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, 
whose character is thus marked by every act which may 
define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

" Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British 
brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of 
attempts made by their legislature to extend an unwarrant- 
able jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the 
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We 
have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and 
we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, 
to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably inter- 
rupt our connexions and correspondence. They, too, have 
been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
must therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces 
our separation ; and hold them, as we hold the rest of man- 
kind — enemies in war, in peace friends. 

" We, therefore, the representatives of the United States 
of America, in general congress assembled, appealing to 
the Supreme Judge of the world, for the rectitude of our 
intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good 
people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that 
these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states ; that they are absolved from all allegi- 
ance to the British crown, and that all political connexion 
between them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought 
to be, tota'ly dissolved ; and that, as free and independent 
states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, 
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 
acts and things which independent states may of right do. 
And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm re!i 



HISTORY OF 



124 



ance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually 
pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred 
honour."* 



CHAPTER VII. 

Continuation of the war. Success of the Americans. Peace 
of Paris. 

Jt had early occurred to general Washington, that the 
possession of New York would be with the British a favour- 
ite object. Its central situation, and contiguity to the ocean, 
might enable them to carry the war to any part of the sea- 
coast. Its acquisition was rendered still more valuable, by 
the ease with which it could be maintained. Surrounded 
on all sides by water, it was defensible by a small number 



* This declaration was composed by Thomas Jefferson; member of a 
committee appointed for the purpose. It was signed in the State-house, 
at Philadelphia, in a chamber of the right wing-, on the ground floor ; the 
first which you enter from the centre hall of that building. 

A painting, commemorative of this great event, in which are drawn the 
persons of its illustrious authors, (whose names are here recorded,) in their 
position at the time of its being presented by the committee for the ap- 
proval of congress, has been drawn by an American artist, colonel Trum- 
bull ; and placed, in 1819, in the capitol at Washington. 

John Hancock, President. Charles Thomson, Secretary. 

New Hampshire ; Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thorn- 
ton. Massachusetts ; Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. Rhode Island, &c. Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, 
Connecticut; Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntingdon, William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. New York ; William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis 
Lewis, Lewis Morris. New Jersey ; Richard Stockton, John Wither- 
spoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. Pennsylvania ; 
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George 
Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. 
Delaware; Csesar Rodney, George Reed. Maryland; Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. Virginia ; 
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Har- 
rison, Thomas Nelson, junior, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. 
North Carolina; William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. South 
Carolina ; Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hay ward, junior, Thomas Lynch, 
junior; Arthur Middleton. Georgia; Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, 
George Walton. 

Of these patriots, the last survivor, Charles Carroll, died on the 14th 
»f Nov. 1832, in the 96th year of his age. 



THE UNITED STATES. 125 



of British ships, against adversaries whose whole navy con- 
sisted only of a few frigates ; and Hudson's river, being nav- 
igable for vessels of the largest size, to a great distance, 
afforded an opportunity of severing the eastern from the 
other states, and of almost preventing between them any 
communication. 

In proportion to the desire which general Washington 
judged that the British felt for the possession of New York, 
did this sagacious officer direct his attention to its defence. 
He had, in April, fixed his head quarters in that city, and 
given it all the strength that wisdom could invent, or indus- 
try accomplish. He made a new distribution of the army : 
leaving a part in Massachusetts, ordering a small division 
to Canada, but drawing the greatest portion into New York. 
Thus, although he now laboured to secure this important 
place, he was not forgetful of the other districts of his coun- 
try. His comprehensive mind embraced, in one view, the 
condition of the whole ; and his experience taught him the 
most effectual method of preserving them. He determined 
on a " war of posts the best suited to the condition of his 
infant troops, and the least adapted to the interest of his 
enemy : as, while it increased the confidence of the one, 
it retarded the operations of the other, by continual alarm. 

The enemy resolved to make their first attempt on Long 
Island ; a position more advantageous than that on which 
the city stood, as it abounded with fresh provisions. On 
the 22d of August, they landed without opposition between 
two villages, Utrecht and Gravesend. The American 
works protected a small peninsula; having Wallabout Bay 
on the left, Red Hook, to which they extended, on the right, 
and East River, in the rear. General Sullivan, to whom 
was entrusted the defence of the island, was encamped with 
a strong force within^these works, at Brooklyn. The passes 
leading through the hills were all guarded, and a battalion 
of riflemen observed the motions of the British. 

General Heister, with his Hessian auxiliaries in English 
pay, took post at Flatbush ; and, on the following morning, 
the 27th, general Clinton gained possession of a height 
commanding one of the defiles. The guard fled, without 
making any resistance. Early on the 28th, an attack was 
made by the Hessians, and by another body under general 
Grant ; which was well supported for a considerable time, 
on both sides. The Americans who opposed general Heis- 
ter were the first informed of the approach of Clinton, who 
nad come round upon their left. They immediately began a 



126 



HISTORY OF 



retreat to their camp ; but were intercepted by the lattery 
who, having gained their rear, attacked them with his 
light infantry and dragoons. The Americans were driven 
back, until met by the Hessians ; and were thus chased, 
alternately, by two parties. Some of the regiments, how- 
ever, found their way to the camp. The Americans, under 
lord Stirling, consisting of colonel Miles's two battalions, 
Atlee's, Small wood's, and Hatch's regiments, who were 
opposed to general Grant, fought with great resolution, 
for about six hours. But, from their total want of cavalry, 
being ignorant of the movements made by general Clinton, 
until some of his troops had traversed the whole extent of 
country in their rear, their retreat was intercepted. Seve- 
ral, notwithstanding, broke through, and got into the woods, 
and a considerable number escaped to the lines. Many, 
however, were drowned, and others perished in the mud. 

The king's troops displayed great valour throughout the 
whole day. The variety of ground occasioned a succession 
of small engagements, pursuits, and slaughters, which last- 
ed many hours. British discipline, however, in every in- 
stance triumphed over the mere bravery of raw forces : who 
had never been in any action, and whose officers were unac- 
quainted with the stratagems of war. 

The loss of the enemy, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
or, as it is concisely termed by the French, the number 
placed hoi's de combat, was four hundred and fifty. That of 
the Americans was above a thousand. Amongst the pri- 
soners taken of the latter, were two generals, Sullivan and 
Stirling, and eighty-two other officers, including every 
rank. 

During the retreat, general Washington had brought 
over re-enforcements to the scene of action ; and, after he 
had collected his principal force there, it was his wish and 
hope that sir William Howe would attempt to storm his 
works. But the remembrance of Breed's-hill, restrained the 
British general from an assault. On the contrary, he made 
demonstrations of a siege, and opened trenches within three 
hundred yards, to the left, at Putnam's redoubt. Though 
general Washington had wished for an immediate assault, 
yet, being certain that his works would be untenable when 
the British batteries were fully opened, he called a council 
of war, to determine on the most proper measures. It be- 
ing resolved, that the objects in view were in no degree 
proportioned to the dangers, to which, by a continuation on 
the island, they would be exposed, dispositions were made 



THE UNITED STATES. 



127 



for retreating. This commenced soon after it was dark , 
from two points, the upper and lower ferries on East river. 
General M'Dougal superintended the embarkation at one ; 
colonel Knox, at the other. Never was any movement more 
skilfully ordered, conducted with more consummate ad- 
dress, or seemingly more favoured by the aid of Providence. 
The field-artillery, tents, baggage, and about nine thousand 
men, were conveyed to New York, over a river upwards of 
a mile wide, in less than thirteen hours ; and without the 
knowledge of the British, though not distant six hundred 
yards. The wind seemed, in one place, to change accord- 
ing to their wants ; and, in another, a fog veiled them from 
the hostile view. Half an hour after general Mifflin, with 
the rear guard, had left the lines, they were entered by the 
British. 

Not rightly appreciating the spirit of the American lead- 
ers, which was not subdued, but made more resolute, by 
defeat, lord Howe considered the late reverse as favourable 
to promote submission ; and, accordingly, sent general Sul- 
livan, already mentioned amongst the prisoners, with a mes- 
sage to the congress. In a few days, Dr. Franklin, John 
Adams, and Edward Rutledge, were deputed to have an 
interview with the British general, on Staten Island. They 
were politely received ; but there arose no approximation 
towards a peace. When concluding, lord Howe expressed 
to Dr. Franklin, with whom, a mutual friendship had for 
some time before existed, the extreme pain he would suffer, 
in being obliged to distress those that he so much regarded. 
" I feel thankful to your lordship," replied Franklin, " for 
your regard. The Americans will show their gratitude, 
by endeavouring to lessen the pain you may feel on their 
account, in exerting their utmost abilities to take good care 
of themselves." 

It was happy for the cause of freedom, that a principle, 
yet higher than that which often animates the common sol- 
dier to maintain his post, actuated the superior officers en- 
trusted with its defence. The army became universally 
dispirited. The militia ran off by companies, and the reg- 
ulars were infected by the example. The situation of 
those generous leaders, who knew no fear, except in the 
prospective ruin of their country ; who offered every thing, 
but honour, a sacrifice to avert its degradation ; cannot be 
described. How must the heart of Washington have been 
wrung with anguish ! To retreat, subjected him to animad- 
versions, painful to bear, yet impolitic to refute. To stand 



123 



HISTORY OF 



his ground, and thus hazard the fate of America, on one 
engagement, in which fortune might decide, was contrary 
to every rational plan of defending his extensive charge. 
A middle line, between abandoning and defending, was, 
therefore, for a while adopted. The public stores were re- 
moved to Dobb's ferry, about twenty-six miles distant : 
twelve thousand men were ordered to the northern extremi- 
ty of New York island ; four thousand five hundred remain- 
ed to defend the city, and the rest were stationed within 
the intermediate space, to act as occasion might require. 

The same short-sighted politicians who had before cen- 
sured general Washington for his caution, in not storming 
the British lines at Boston, renewed the clamours against 
him for this system of evacuation and retreat. But the 
same wisdom which had then devised it as the best, now 
confirmed his resolution to maintain it. Supported by a 
consciousness of his own integrity, and by a full conviction 
that these measures were the most advantageous to his 
country, he again voluntarily subjected his fame to be over- 
shadowed by a passing cloud. 

General Howe pursued his object with unabating dili- 
gence. Having prepared every thing for a descent on New 
York island, he landed his men near Turtle-bay. The 
Americans instantly fell back ; and though some detach- 
ments, under the command of colonel Knowleton of Con- 
necticut and major Leitch of Virginia, the former of whom 
was killed and the latter wounded, had actually beaten their 
immediate adversaries from the field, yet it became neces- 
sary to evacuate the city. On the 12th of October, it was 
entered by a brigade of the enemy. They had been only a 
few days in possession, when a dreadful fire broke out, 
which consumed a thousand houses. The Americans took 
a position on the north end of the island ; but, soon after- 
wards, left three thousand men'in Fort Washington, near 
Kingsbridge, and retired. The royal army followed, in two 
columns : and, after sustaining a considerable loss, by the 
fire of a party which general Lee had posted behind a wall, 
halted with the Brunx in front : upon which, the Americans 
assembled their main force at White Plains ; where they 
formed intrenchments. A severe action took place, and 
several hundreds fell. The British were commanded by 
general Leslie ; the Americans, by general M'Dougal. 

Soon afterwards, general Washington changed his front ; 
his left wing standing fast, while his right fell back to some 
contiguous hills. In this position, admirable for de- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



129 



fence, he both desired and expected an attack ; but general 
Howe having declined it, and drawn off his forces to 
Dobbs's ferry, the Americans retired to Northcastle. 

Leaving seven thousand men under general Lee, Wash- 
ington crossed Hudson River, into New Jersey, and took a 
position in the neighbourhood of Fort Lee. In the mean- 
time, sir William Howe commenced the reduction of Fort 
Washington. On the 16th of November, the royal army 
attacked in four divisions : the first was led by general Knip- 
hausen ; the second, by general Matthews, supported by 
lord Cornwallis ; the third was under the direction of colo- 
nel Stirling; and the fourth, commanded by lord Percy. 
The garrison consisted of three thousand men, under colo- 
nel Magaw. Their outworks being carried, their defenders 
crowded into the fort, and the whole surrendered prisoners 
of war. The loss of the assailants was considerable. Their 
killed and wounded, from the fire of the garrison, and of 
Rawling's corps of riflemen stationed in a wood through 
which one of their divisions passed, were at least twelve 
hundred. 

Shortly afterwards, lord Cornwallis crossed over to the 
Jersey shore, and captured Fort Lee, with all its artillery 
and stores ; the garrison having been saved by a previous 
evacuation. General Washington then retreated to New- 
ark. But he saw no hopes of being able to remain even 
there. He feared that he would .be compelled to retire still 
further. " Should we retreat," said he, addressing colonel 
Reed, " to the back parts of Pennsylvania, will the inhabit- 
ants support us?" The colonel replied, that if the lower 
counties were subdued, and surrendered, the upper districts 
would do the same. " We must retire, then," rejoined 
Washington, "to Augusta county, in Virginia: numbers 
will be obliged to repair to us for safety, and if overpower- 
ed, we must cross the Allegheny mountains." 

But the general's situation became yet more distressing. 
The term for which his army had enlisted was on the point 
of expiring: the British commander offered pardon and re- 
ward to all who would, within sixty days, desert the colonial 
interest : and, when it was expected that he would withdraw 
to winter quarters, pursued the diminished army in its re- 
treat. Lord Cornwallis, at the head of six thousand regulars, 
was so close behind general Washington, as he retired, dur- 
ing nineteen days, with about three thousand undisciplined 
troops, to Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, and the Pernsyl- 
vania side of the Delaware, that the rear of the one aiiny 



130 



HISTORY OF 



pulling down bridges, was often within shot of the other's 
van, hastening to repair them. 

Scarcely one of the people joined the retreating army, 
while numbers were daily flocking to the royal standard, to 
obtain forgiveness and protection. Not only the lower 
classes changed sides in this gloomy season of adversity, but 
some of the leading men in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
particularly Mr. Gallaway and Mr. Allen, two members of 
congress, adopted the same dastardly expedient, and declar- 
ed themselves, at all times, averse to independence. Every 
thing seemed tending to colonial overthrow. General Lee, 
one of the most distinguished continental officers, was tak- 
en prisoner ; a dispirited half-clad army was on the eve of 
being disbanded ; the neighbourhood of Philadelphia be- 
came the seat of warfare, and congress removed for safety 
to Baltimore. 

In proportion as difficulties increased, that assembly re- 
doubled their exertions. They addressed the states in ani- 
mated language ; recommended them to appoint a day of 
solemn fasting and humiliation, invested Washington with 
extraordinary powers, and endeavoured to obtain assistance 
from foreign nations. 

These judicious measures in the cabinet, were accom- 
panied with proportionate vigour in the field. A bold enter- 
prise was formed by Washington, of re-crossing into Jersey, 
and attacking those parties of the enemy which were station- 
ed at Burlington, Bordenton, and Trenton. In the evening 
of Christmas day, he made arrangements for passing the 
Delaware in three divisions ; two under the respective orders 
of generals Cadwalader and Ewing, and one division to 
be directed by himself. But, owing to the quantity of 
broken ice, only the main body, commanded by Washing- 
ton, succeeded in its purpose, at M'Konkey's Ferry, nine 
miles above Trenton ; and the passage even of this was so 
retarded, that it was three o'clock in the morning before the 
artillery was landed. On arriving in Jersey, this party was 
arranged in two divisions ; one commanded by general Sulli- 
van, the other by general Greene, aided by Stirling, Mer- 
cer, and St. Clair ; who were ordered to proceed to Tren- 
ton by different roads, and charge the enemy before they had 
time to form. At eight o'clock, they reached the advanced 
posts, within three minutes of each other. The out- 
guards of the Hessian troops soon fell back, but kept up a 
retreating fire ; their main body, after losing half their artil- 
lery, and finding themselves -surrounded, laid down their 



THE UNITED STATES. 



131 



arms. The detachment in Trenton consisted of fifteen hun- 
dred German infantry, and a troop of British cavalry : of 
whom, forty were killed or wounded, and nine hundred 
taken prisoners ; the remainder, about six hundred, having 
escaped towards Bordenton. Captain Washington, of the 
Virginia troops, a relation of the commander in chief, and 
five or six other Americans, were wounded : two were kill- 
ed, and two or three frozen to death. 

History affords few examples superior to this master-stroke 
in the art of war. Nothing seemed more improbable than 
such an attempt, to the commander in chief of that district. 
When colonel Rahl, the officer in Trenton, sent to his su- 
perior, general Grant, for a cautionary re-enforcement, 
" Tell the colonel," he replied, " he is very safe. I will 
undertake to keep the peace in New Jersey with a corpo- 
ral's guard." 

The British had a strong battalion of light infantry at 
Princeton, and a force yet remaining near the Delaware, su- 
perior to the American army. General Washington, there- 
fore, in the evening after his victory, conceived it the most 
prudent to re-cross into Pennsylvania, with his prisoners. 
These being secured, he returned to Trenton. The enemy, 
as might have been expected, did not allow him to remain 
long undisturbed. Their detachments, which had been can- 
toned over Jersey previous to the capture of the Hessians, 
assembled immediately at Princeton ; where they were join- 
ed by the army from Brunswick, under lord Cornwallis. 
yi~i~[ Prom this position, they proceeded, on the 2d of 
January, towards Trenton ; hoping, by a vigorous 
onset, to repair the injury sustained by the late defeat. 
About four in the afternoon, they encountered a party of 
the Americans, posted with four field-pieces a little to the 
northward of the latter, and compelled them to retreat. 
This advantage, however, was only for a short time retained. 
They were checked by some artillery, stationed on the op- 
posite banks of Assanpinck creek, fell back out of the reach 
of the shot, and halted for the night. 

Truly critical, however, was the situation of the Ameri- 
can army. A retreat would endanger Philadelphia, the 
capital of the infant union : an action with a superior force, 
whilst a river lay behind, was dangerous and imprudent. 
But the genius of the commander suggested a relief, by 
which not only defeat might be averted, but victory obtain- 
ed He determined to get round the advanced party of the 



132 



HISTORY OF 



enemy, and attack them in the rear. Soon after it became 
dark, he ordered the baggage to be silently removed : when, 
leaving guards, as well as kindling fires, for the purpose of 
deception, he marched, by a circuitous route, to Princeton. 
This place, situated about ten miles distant towards the 
north, he reached early in the morning; and would have 
completely surprised the British there, had not a party, on 
their way to Trenton, descried his troops, and sent back 
couriers to give an alarm. The royalists, consisting of three 
regiments of infantry, an artillery corps with two field-pieces, 
and three troops of light dragoons, charged the centre of 
the Americans, on their march. The latter gave way in 
disorder. The danger was extreme. Washington instant- 
ly rushed forward. He placed himself between his own 
men and the British, with his horse's head fronting the lat- 
ter. The Americans made a stand ; returned the enemy's 
fire ; and the general, though exposed on both sides, 
escaped unhurt. A party of the enemy fled into the col- 
lege, and surrendered. 

In the course of the engagement, sixty of their number 
were killed, many more wounded, and three hundred made 
prisoners. The rest eluded capture : some, by pushing on 
towards Trenton : others, by returning towards Brunswick. 
The American loss was numerically small : but amongst 
the killed were some valuable officers ; particularly, general 
Mercer, a native of Scotland ; who, like Montgomery, was 
amiable in private life, brave and experienced in the field. 

While they were engaged in Princeton, the British in 
Trenton were under arms, chiding the tardy coming of the 
dawn ; which, with confident anticipation, was to light them 
to easy conquest : for, with so much address had the 
stratagem been conducted, that general Washington went 
completely off the ground, with his entire force, stores, 
baggage, and artillery, unobserved and unsuspected. When 
the British heard the report of the artillery at Princeton, 
though it was in the depth of winter, they believed it to be 
thunder : and so great was their consternation, at these un- 
expected movements, that the whole immediately retreated 
to New Brunswick and Amboy. 

During the late occupation, New Jersey had suffered 
dreadfully, in the waste of property and insults upon the 
inhabitants. The soldiers of the royal army, particularly 
the Hessians, had unloosed the reins of every selfish, fero- 
cious, and brutal passion, of human nature. Their officers 



THE UNITED STATES. 



133 



could not restrain them : friends and foes, loyalists ard re- 
publicans, all shared a common fate. 

Seldom, however, there happens an evil, without a con 
comitant or succeeding good. That whole country now 
became hostile to the invaders. The militia of New Jer- 
sey, who hitherto, had behaved most disgracefully, from 
this time forward, redeemed their character ; and evinced 
a spirit and discipline equal in many respects to what dis- 
tinguishes regular soldiers. 

During those winter movements, both armies suffered 
extraordinary hardships ; but the Americans underwent the 
greatest. Many of them were without shoes, though 
marching over frozen ground ; which so gashed their feet, 
that their steps were marked with blood. They were mis- 
erably deficient in blankets, and almost wholly destitute of 
tents. Yet, in this situation, the American army, which, 
after the affair at Princeton, had retired to Morristown, 
were inoculated ; and, as very few, either of the officers or 
privates, ever had had the small-pox, the disorder was nearly 
universal. It had previously spread amongst them in the 
natural way, and proved mortal to many : but, after inocu- 
lation was introduced, the fatality was small ; and the effect 
so gentle, that, from the beginning, there was not a single 
day in which they could not have exchanged the situation 
of invalid for that of soldier, and appeared in arms against 
the English. 

The campaign of one year had not ended, until carried 
into the first month of the succeeding. For some time, 
however, there had existed a state of comparative inactivi- 
ty. Since the battle of Princeton, the operations extended 
not beyond a few skirmishes ; unimportant in themselves, 
yet productive of future benefit. At Springfield, a small 
party of Germans were beaten by an equal number of Jer- 
sey militia, under colonel Spencer. Near Somerset court- 
house, general Dickinson, with four hundred of the same 
description, and fifty Pennsylvania riflemen, defeated a large 
foraging party, and obtained possession of their convoy. 
Colonel Barton, desirous of retaliating the capture of general 
Lee, embarked with forty militia, in whale-boats, surprised 
general Prescott at his quarters between Newport and Bris- 
tol ferry, in Rhode Island, and brought him to the main 
land. General Putnam was eminently useful, in guarding 
the army against surprise ; and so much vigilance was 
every where displayed, that sir William Howe was con- 
fined to limits so narrow, as would not, had a purchaser 
12 



134 



HISTORY OF 



been found, have re-imbursed the expense of the attain 
ment. 

Hitherto, the Americans were deficient in arms and am- 
munition, as well as in men : but in the spring, they receiv- 
ed from France twenty thousand stand of arms and a thou- 
sand barrels of powder. 

Before the royal army took the field, in prosecution of 
the main business of the campaign, they accomplished 
two enterprises, for the destruction of American stores. 
At Peekskill, about fifty miles above New York, they cap- 
tured or destroyed a considerable quantity of necessary ar- 
ticles ; which had been collected there, notwithstanding the 
orders given by general Washington to the commissaries, 
not to allow a large accumulation of provisions near the 
water. At Danbury, the Americans lost sixteen hundred 
barrels of pork and flour, two thousand bushels of corn, and 
seventeen hundred tents. On returning to their ships, the 
British were attacked, at Ridgefield, by a party hastily col- 
lected, under generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silliman, and 
suffered a loss, in killed and wounded, of two or three hun- 
dred men. The Americans had twenty killed ; amongst 
whom, was the brave general Wooster ; who, though seven- 
ty years old, behaved with the vigour and spirit of youth. 
Not long afterwards, colonel Meigs, one of the intrepid com- 
panions of Arnold in the expedition to Canada, led a detach- 
ment of one hundred and seventy men, in whale-boats, to 
Long Island ; burned twelve British vessels, with a large 
quantity of forage, in Sagg-Harbour, killed six soldiers, and 
brought off ninety prisoners, without losing a single man. 

As the season advanced, the American army in New 
Jersey was re-enforced by successive arrivals of recruits ; 
nevertheless, at the opening of the campaign, in the begin- 
ning of June, it amounted only Jo seven thousand men. 

General Washington, having left his winter-quarters at 
Morristown, took a strong position at Middlebrook. Sir 
William Howe marched from Brunswick, and extended 
his van as far as Somerset court-house ; but, in a few days, 
was constrained to resume his former station. He then 
endeavoured to provoke general Washington to engage ; 
leaving no manoeuvre untried, to induce him to quit his 
post. At length, convinced of the impossibility of com- 
pelling a battle, on equal terms, and aware of the danger 
of crossing the Delaware while the Americans were in 
his rear, he proceeded to Amboy, and thence passed over 
to Staten Island ; resolved to pursue the objects of the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



135 



campaign by another route. His real designs were in- 
volved in obscurity. Washington was much embarrassed. 
The enemy seemed, at one time, moving to the south ; at 
another, to the north. At last, on the 23d of July, their 
main body departed from Sandy Hook, and were reported 
to steer to the southward. A letter from sir William 
Howe to general Burgoyne, then stationed in Canada, was 
intercepted, which mentioned that they were steering to 
New Hampshire. But the deception was so superficially 
veiled, that, in conjunction with some particulars attending 
the embarkation, it removed the uncertainty from the mind 
of Washington, instead of misleading him to an opposite 
direction. Within an hour after receiving the letter, he 
gave orders for marching to the south. But he was yet so 
much impressed with a conviction that it was the true in- 
terest of Howe to form a junction with Burgoyne, that he 
ordered his army to halt for some time at the Delaware ; 
suspecting that the southern movement was a feint, intended 
to draw him farther from the Hudson. 

The British fleet was a week at sea, before it reached 
Cape Henlopen. Here, sir William Howe, being informed 
that the passage of the Delaware was obstructed, abandoned 
his original intention of reaching Philadelphia by ascending 
that river, and resolved on a circuitous route, by the Chesa- 
peake. From Henlopen, he had a tedious passage. Though 
the distance, in a direct line, is only about forty leagues, 
twenty days elapsed before he entered the capes of Virginia. 
He proceeded up the bay with a favourable wind, and landed 
his troops, sixteen thousand in number, at Turkey Point, on 
the eastern side of Elk River. The American army was 
immediately put in motion to oppose them. Its number, on 
paper, amounted to fourteen thousand; but its effective force, 
on which dependence might be placed in the day of battle, 
did not much exceed eight thousand men ; many of whom 
were without shoes. Its several divisions were command- 
ed principally by Greene, Maxwell, and Stephens, Stirling, 
Sullivan, and Wayne. The enemy advanced with boldness, 
until within two miles of the Americans ; who were then 
posted nea** Newport, in the state of Delaware. Washington 
soon changed his position, and halted on the high ground 
near Chadd's ford, on Brandywine creek, in Delaware coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania ; with an intention of disputing the pas- 
sage. It was the wish, but by no means the interest, of the 
Americans, to try their strength in an engagement. Their 
regular troops were inferior, not only in discipline, but, 
in numbers, to the royal army. Popular opinion, however, 



136 



HISTORY OF 



imposed a degree of necessity on the general, to keep his 
troops in front of the enemy, and risk an action for the se- 
curity of Philadelphia ; though, had he taken the ridge of 
high land on his right, the British, ignorant of his army's 
weakness, must have respected his numbers, and would 
probably have followed him into the country. By this 
policy, the campaign might have been prolonged ; while 
the Americans would have been strengthened, and the in- 
vaders wasted, by delay. For once, however, Washington 
relinquished his usual policy, and hazarded a disadvanta- 
geous action. 

At daybreak, on the 11th of September, the royal army 
moved forward in two columns, commanded by Kniphau- 
sen and Cornwallis. The first kept the direct road to 
Chadd's ford, and made a show of passing it, in front of 
the main body of the Americans : the other column marched 
up on the west side of the Brandywine, to its fork, about 
four miles above Chadd's ford, in the county of Chester ; 
crossing both its branches, and then marching down on its 
east bank, with the view of turning their adversaries' right 
wing. This, they accomplished : after a series of endeavours 
throughout the entire day, the Americans were broken, and 
every exertion to rally them was ineffectual. The retreat 
soon became general, and was continued to Chester, on the 
river Delaware ; with the loss of twelve hundred men, killed 
and wounded. 

Two distinguished foreigners served under the Ameri- 
can banners at the Brandywine ; the Marquis De La Fayette, 
and count Pulaski ; the one, a native of France, the other, 
of Poland. Animated by the love of liberty, La Fayette, 
a nobleman of high rank, had left the country of his birth, 
and offered his service to congress. While in France, and 
only nineteen years of age, he espoused the cause of the 
Americans, with the most disinterested and generous ar- 
dour ; and, having determined to' join them, communicated 
his intentions to their commissioners at Paris. His offer 
was gratefully received. They justly considered, that a 
patron of so much importance would be of the utmost ser- 
vice to their cause. Before he embarked, intelligence had 
arrived in Europe, that the American patriots, reduced to 
two thousand men, were flying before a British force of 
thirty thousand; under which circumstances, the commis- 
sioners thought it their duty to dissuade him from the pre- 
sent prosecution of his dangerous enterprise. But their 
candour was expressed in vain. His zeal to serve a strug- 
gling country, was heightened, not abated, by her misfor 



THE UNITED STATES. 



187 



tunes. His personal risk was not the only one which might 
have deterred him. He hazarded his large fortune, by the 
laws of France ; and also imprisonment, in case of capture 
when on his way to the United States : for, his sovereign 
having forbidden his proceeding, despatched orders to the 
West Indies, to have him, if found in that quarter, confined. 
He was appointed a major-general in the American army ; 
an honour, of which he showed himself in the highest de- 
gree deserving. Though wounded in the late battle, he 
continued in the field ; exerting himself, not only by his 
voice, but his example, to rally the broken troops. Pulas- 
ki was a " thunderbolt of war." It was he, who, a few 
years before, carried oft' king Stanislaus from his capital, 
though the monarch was surrounded by a numerous body 
of guards, and by a Russian army. 

The situation of his troops precluded Washington from 
long impeding the enemies' advance. After a few days, he 
was compelled to leave them in undisturbed possession of 
the roads leading to Philadelphia. His troops were worn 
down by a succession of severe duties ; a thousand of his 
men were barefooted ; and, to increase his misfortunes, 
Wayne's regiment, encamped near the Paoli tavern, was 
surprised in the night by general Grey, and about fifty of 
its number slain with the bayonet. 

It was no longer safe for congress to remain in Philadel- 
phia. This august assembly, which, after a short residence 
at Baltimore, had returned, were obliged, a second time, to 
consult the public interest, by flight. They retired, first to 
Lancaster, and afterwards to York. 

Sir William Howe, having left the greater part of his 
army in Germantown, a village about six miles northward 
of the capital, entered Philadelphia on the 26th of Septem- 
ber ; where he was received by many with a real or appar- 
ent welcome. 

The possession of the largest city in the United States, 
together with the dispersion of that grand council which 
had hitherto conducted their affairs, was viewed by the 
short-sighted as decisive of their fate. But, in the present 
contest for sovereignty, the result was not in the power of 
a single ruler, or a body of rulers, nor was it to be deter- 
mined by the possession, or the loss, of any particular place : 
it was the public mind, the sentiments and opinions of the 
people, that were to decide. Indeed, it was conceived by 
the more discerning politicians, that the luxuries of a greit 
city would so far enervate the British troops, as to indis- 
12* 



138 



HISTORY OF 



pose them, like the conquerors of Cannae, for those active 
exertions, to which they were compelled, while inconveni- 
ently encamped in the open country. This speculation 
was inculcated in France by Dr. Franklin, with his charac- 
teristic humour. To remove the impression which the 
British progress might have made in that country, and 
place a modern Capua in view, he observed, that, " Instead 
of saying sir William Howe had taken Philadelphia, it 
would be more proper. to say that Philadelphia had taken 
sir William Howe." 

One of the first objects of the English, after they had ob- 
tained possession of the city, was to erect batteries for the 
purpose of commanding the river, and protecting the town 
from insult by water. On the other hand, the British ship- 
ping was prevented from ascending the Delaware, by ob- 
structions sunk at Mud Island ; on which had been erected 
a battery, and a fort, called in honour of general Mifflin. 
Opposite, on the Jersey shore, is a height called Red-bank ; 
where, also, a battery was erected : and between the two 
fortresses, which were about half a mile distant from each 
other, the American naval .armament for the protection of 
the Delaware made its harbour of retreat. 

The flattering anticipations, cherished by the continental 
patriots, that effeminacy would forfeit the acquirements of 
the sword, were not sufficient to check the accustomed 
vigour of the field. Such refinements enter not amongst 
the calculations of the soldier. He rests his hope on the 
more decisive agency of arms. General Washington, hav- 
ing been re-enforced by twenty-five hundred men, and in- 
formed that sir William Howe had detached a considerable 
party for reducing the works in the Delaware, conceived 
the design of secretly issuing from his position at Skippack 
creek, and attacking the British post at Germantown. 
Their line of encampment crossed the town at right angles, 
near its centre ; their left wing extending to the Schuylkill, 
w r ith strong parties of chasseurs and infantry stationed in 
advance. The American divisions of Sullivan and Wayne, 
flanked by Conway's brigade, were to enter the town by the 
way of Chesnut-hill ; while general Armstrong, with the 
Pennsylvania militia, should fail down Manatawny road, 
and attack the British in the left and rear. The divisions 
of Greene and Stephens, flanked by M'Dougal's brigade, 
were to proceed by the Lime-Kiln road ; the militia of Ma- 
ryland and Jersey, under generals Smallwood, and Furman, 
by tne old York road, and fall upon the rear of their right , 



THE UNITED STATES. 



139 



and Stirling, with Nash's and Maxwell's brigades, fo\med 
a corps of reserve. 

The Americans began the attack about sun-rise on the 
4th of October. Their first assault obliged a body on Ches- 
nut-hill road to retreat with precipitation; but a thick fog, 
concealing the true situation of the parties, occasioned mis- 
takes, and an ill-judged attempt to expel a small regiment 
of the royal army from Mr. Chew's large stone house, caused 
so much delay, that the British had time to recover from 
their first surprise. The Americans left the field hastily, 
and all efforts to rally them were ineffectual. General Ste- 
phens was cashiered, for misconduct in the retreat. Their 
loss, including, four hundred prisoners, was a thousand men. 
Among the slain, were general Nash, and his aid-de-camp, 
major Witherspoon. Of the royal army, general Agnew and 
colonel Bird were killed, and about five hundred others, 
slain, wounded, or made prisoners. 

Soon after this battle, the British left Germantown, and 
devoted their principal attention to the opening of a free 
communication between their army and their shipping. 
Two thousand Hessians, led by colonel Donop, made a fu- 
rious attack on Red-bank, but were repulsed, with consid- 
erable loss, by colonel Greene ; and an assault, about the 
same time, on Fort Mifflin, by a naval force, was equally 
disastrous. However, their next attempt counterbalanced 
these misfortunes. The accumulation of sand against the 
chevaux-de-frise, placed between these works, having, at 
length, obstructed the passage of the water, the current was 
diverted into a new channel, and deepened the river on the 
Pennsylvania side of Mud Island ; so as to admit vessels of 
considerable draught. This post, therefore, was no longer 
tenable. A large English ship, cut down, so as to require 
only a small depth of water, enfiladed the works. Colonel 
Smith, who had bravely defended the place during more 
than forty days, being wounded, was removed to the main ; 
and, within a week afterwards, major Thayer, who had 
volunteered to take charge of this dangerous post, was 
obliged to save his remaining companions by an evacuation. 
This was not done, however, until the works were entirely 
beaten down, every piece of cannon dismounted, and one 
of the British ships so near, that she threw hand-gre 
nades into the fort, and killed the men jpon the platform. 
Three days afterwards, the garrison was withdrawn from 
Red-bank ; and, thus, the British accomplished the much 
desired communication. — The conduct of colonel Smith and 



140 



HISTORY OF 



commodore Hazelwood obtained the thanks of congress, 
signified by their voting to each a sword ; their long pro- 
tracted defence of the Delaware having deranged the ene- 
my's plans for the remainder of the campaign, and, conse- 
quently, saved the adjacent country. 

About this time, the presidential chair of congress be- 
came vacant, by the departure of Mr. Hancock ; after he 
had ably discharged its duties for nearly two years and a 
half. In his place, was elected Mr. Laurens, of South Car- 
olina ; a gentleman of easy fortune, much political experi- 
ence, and incorruptible integrity : whom, the danger of 
losing one estate could not intimidate, nor the offer of a 
larger, corrupt. 

The season for action was now almost spent, and with the 
season, the desire of the British general for battle. After 
a mutual display of the military art, by sir William Howe, 
and the cautious Washington, both retired to winter quar- 
ters ; the former into Philadelphia, the latter to Valley 
Forge. At this place, situated on the river Schuylkill, in 
the county of Chester, distant from the city about twenty 
miles, his companions, in a great measure without shoes or 
stockings, tents or blankets, all cheerfully retired into a wood, 
in the latter end of December ; sheltering themselves from 
the severity of an American winter in temporary huts. 

During these operations in the middle districts, a war, 
equally extensive, and of more important issue, was prose- 
cuting in the north. 

Sanguine in their expectation of forming a line of com- 
munication between New York and Canada, the British 
ministry had left nothing undone that could promote suc- 
cess. The troops destined for this service were upwards 
of seven thousand ; with a train of artillery, the finest, and 
the most efficiently supplied, that had ever been assigned 
to second the operations of an equal force. Arms and ac- 
coutrements were provided for the Canadians, and several 
nations of Indians induced to take up the hatchet under 
the royal banners. The command was given to general 
Burgoyne ; an officer whose abilities were well known, and 
whose spirit of enterprise, and thirst of military fame, could 
not be exceeded. The British had the exclusive navigation 
of lake Champlain. Their marine force on that inland sea, 
with which, in the preceding campaign, they had destroyed 
the American flotilla, was not only entire, but unopposed. 

Having gained possession of Ticonderoga, as well as of 
the other defences which had served to prevent or to im- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



141 



pedc the advance of an enemy into the United States on 
the side of Canada, and with a degree of alacrity and per- 
severance not to be excelled, reached Fort Edward, on the 
Hudson, Burgoyne proceeded, in the beginning of August 
lo force his passage down towards Albany. In the mean- 
time, every obstruction had been thrown in his way, by 
Schuyler, Arnold, St. Clair, and other vigilant command 
crs ; who, at this period, owing to the evacuation of the 
northern forts, and the exertions of the leading patriots in 
New York and the contiguous provinces, had in that quar- 
ter an army of thirteen thousand men. 

In his advance to Albany, Burgoyne formed a plan to 
draw resources from the farms of Vermont. For this pur- 
pose, he detached five hundred Hessians and one hundred 
Indians, with two field-pieces, under the command of colo- 
nel Baum ; a force deemed sufficient to seize a magazine of 
provisions collected by the Americans at Bennington. But 
he proceeded with less caution than his perilous situation 
required. On the 16th of August, colonel Starke attacked 
him, near that place, with about eight hundred New Hamp- 
shire militia, — undisciplined, without bayonets, or a single 
piece of artillery ; killed or captured the greater part of his 
detachment, and got possession of his cannon. This was a 
brilliant service. Another achievement, scarcely less con- 
spicuous, immediately succeeded. Colonel Breyman, who 
had been sent by general Burgoyne to support that party, 
arrived on the same ground, and on the same day, not, 
however, until the action was decided. Instead of meeting 
his friends, he found himself vigorously assailed. This at- 
tack was made by colonel Warner ; who, with his conti- 
nental regiment, had come up, also to support his friends, 
and was well assisted by Starke's militia, which had just 
defeated the party of colonel Baum. Breyman's troops, 
though fatigued with the preceding march, behaved with 
great resolution ; but were at length compelled to abandon 
their artillery, and retreat. In these two actions, the Amer- 
icans took four brass field-pieces, four ammunition wagons, 
and seven hundred prisoners. 

The overthrow of these detachments was the first, in a 
grand series of events, that finally involved in ruin the whole 
royal army. It deranged every plan for extending, or even 
holding, the advantages previously obtained ; inspired the 
Americans with confidence, animated their exertions, and 
filled them with justly-formed expectations of future vic- 
tory. 



142 



HISTORY OF 



After the evacuation of Ticonderoga, the Americans had 
fallen back, from one place to another, until they at last 
rested at Vanshaick's island. Soon after this retreating 
system was adopted, congress removed their commanding 
officers, and placed general Gates at the head of the north- 
ern army. His arrival, on the 19th of August, gave fresh 
vigour to the inhabitants. Encouraged by a hope of cap- 
turing the whole British forces, a spirit of adventure burst 
forth from every quarter, and was carried into various di- 
rections. An enterprise was undertaken by general Lincoln, 
to recover Ticonderoga and the other posts in the rear of 
the British army ; and, though the first object was not ac- 
complished, yet with so much address did colonel Brown, 
who was despatched to the landing at lake George, pro- 
ceed, that, with five hundred men, he not only surprised all 
the out-posts between the landing at the north end of the 
lake and the body of that fortress ; took Mount Defiance and 
Mount Hope, the old French lines, and a block-house ; also 
two hundred batteaux, several gun-boats, besides two hun- 
dred and ninety prisoners ; but, at the same time, released 
one hundred Americans. 

Burgoyne, after crossing the Hudson, advanced along its 
banks, and encamped about two miles from general Gates ; 
a short distance above Still-Water. The Americans thought 
no more of retreating; and, on the 19th of September, en- 
gaged him with firmness and resolution. The conflict, 
though severe, was only partial, for the first hour and a 
half ; but, after a short pause, it became general, and con- 
tinued for three hours without intermission. A constant 
blaze of fire streamed forth, and both sides seemed deter- 
mined on victory or death. The Americans and British 
were alternately driven by each other, until night ended the 
effusion of blood. The enemy lost five hundred men, in- 
cluding killed, wounded, and prisoners ; the Americans, 
three hundred. 

Every moment made the situation of the British army 
more critical. Their provisions were lessening, their In- 
dian and provincial allies deserting; while the animation 
and numbers of the Americans increased. From the un- 
certainty of receiving further supplies, Burgoyne curtailed 
the soldiers' rations. His opponents pressed him on every 
side. Much hard fighting ensued. The British were again 
defeated. One of Bur^oyne's generals, together with his 
aid-de-camp, was killed, and he himself narrowly escaped ; 
as a ball passed througn his hat, and another through his 



THE UNITED STATES. 



H3 



waistcoat. The American generals, Arnold and Lincoln, 
were wounded. To avoid being surrounded, general Bur- 
goyne left his hospital to the humanity of Gates, and retreat 
ed to Saratoga. He was still followed, and harassed ; driven 
on one side and straitened on another. The situation of 
his army was truly distressing : abandoned by their allies, 
unsupported by their fellow-soldiers in New York, worn 
down by a series of incessant efforts, and greatly reduced 
in number ; without a possibility of retreat, or of replenish- 
ing their exhausted stock of provisions : a continual cannon- 
ade pervaded their camp, and grape-shot fell in many parts 
of their lines. 

The 12th of October arrived ; the day until which hope 
had bidden the afflicted general wait for the promised as- 
sistance from New York. But expectation vanished with the 
departing sun. He took an account of his provisions. 
There was only a scanty subsistence for three days. A 
council of war declared that their present situation justified 
a capitulation on honourable terms ; and a negotiation was 
commenced. After various messages passed between the 
hostile armies, it was stipulated, that, on the 17th, the Brit- 
ish were to march out of their camp with the customary 
honours of war ; the arms to be piled by word of command 
from their own officers ; and an undisturbed passage allow- 
ed them to Great Britain, on condition of their not serving 
again in North America during the war. 

By this convention, were surrendered five thousand seven 
hundred and ninety, of all ranks ; which number, added to 
the killed, wounded, and prisoners, lost by the royal army 
during the preceding part of the expedition, made, alto- 
gether, upwards of ten thousand men ; an advantage ren- 
dered still more important to the captors, by the acquisi- 
tion of thirty-five brass field-pieces, and nearly five thousand 
muskets. The regular troops in general Gates's army were 
nine thousand ; the militia, four thousand : but, of the for- 
mer, two thousand were sick or on furlough ; and of the lat- 
ter, five hundred. 

The celebrated Polish patriot, Kosciuski, was chief en- 
gineer in the army of general Gates. 

On learning the fate of Burgoyne, the British on thfc 
North river retired to New York. Those who had been left 
in his rear destroyed their cannon, and, abandoning Ticon 
deroga, retreated to Canada ; so that this whole country,, 
after experiencing for several months the devastations of 
war, was now restored to perfect tranquillity. 



144 



HISTORY OF 



Amongst the numerous tragical events arising from the 
employment of the Indians by the British, one scene was 
presented, which we select, not as having relation to the 
public concerns of the army, but from the interest which 
it excites. This was, the murder of a Miss M'Crea. The 
engaging manners and beauty of this young lady having 
gained the heart of a British officer, he induced a return 
of his affection, and her consent to become his wife. Anx- 
ious for her safety, he wished to remove her from the neigh- 
bourhood of a hostile army. On the day appointed for 
the nuptials, he engaged a party of Indians to convey her 
to the camp ; promising to reward the person who would 
accompany her, with a barrel of rum. Two of the Indians, 
both eager for the reward, disputed, after conveying her 
some distance, which should present her to the intended 
husband ; and the one killed her with his tomahawk, to 
prevent the other from receiving at. Many will here ex- 
claim, This is characteristic of the Indians. But it is other- 
wise : it is a remarkable deviation from their accustomed 
veneration for the weaker sex. The most delicate females 
have been led captive by them for days and weeks, through 
the midst of the unfrequented forest, without experiencing 
the smallest degree of injury or insult. 

It has been already mentioned, that congress had laid 
the foundation of a national fleet, and authorized the fitting 
out of private armed vessels. Commodore Hopkins, cap 
tain-general of the navy, made a sudden descent at New 
Providence, where he seized a large quantity of warlike 
stores, and in his return engaged a British frigate, and cap- 
tured an armed brig. The American privateers rapidly 
increased, and were unusually successful. In the first nine 
months of 1776, embracing the period of their existence in 
that year, they captured property worth a million sterling. 
In the present year, they advanced in boldness. They car- 
ried their enterprising spirit to a degree unprecedented by 
the vessels of any nation ; obliging the enemy to appoint 
convoys, for the purpose of guarding their commerce, even 
in the Irish channel. Captain Barney and the volunteers 
who accompanied him in the Hyder Ally, a vessel equip- 
ped by the inhabitants of Philadelphia, achieved an hon- 
ourable service, by capturing a sloop of war, much supe- 
rior in force, off the Delaware : but the most daring of all 
the officers sailing under the republican flag, was a native 
of Scotland, the celebrated Paul Jones. 

Until the capture of Burgoyne, the European nations 



THE UNITED STATES. 



145 



viewed the war between Great Britain and her colonies 
only as spectators. Anxious for the territorial dismem- 
berment of a powerful rival, yet, fearful that an early 
interference might close the breach it was their interest to 
widen ; they had cautiously abstained from positive declar- 
ations of assistance, while there remained any appearance 
of conciliation, or any danger of defeat. France was the 
first ally which the breath of hostility carried to the aid of 
America. Even the sound of freedom, so discordant to the 
ear of royalty, was not sufficient to destroy the inveterate 
competition. Her sovereign consented that the colonies 
should be free, if Britain could, by that means, be render- 
ing ed weak. On the 6th of February, a treaty, nego- 
tiated by Silas Deane, Dr. Franklin, and Arthur 
Lee, was signed by the United States and Lewis the Six- 
teenth ; on the basis of perfect reciprocity of interest, and 
in which the French monarch guaranteed their commerce 
and independence. 

Only three days had elapsed, when the British govern- 
ment received information of this treaty. Immediately, 
fresh terms of reconciliation were transmitted to their com- 
manders in the United States, and offered to the consider- 
ation of congress at York ; but, notwithstanding that this 
assembly was yet ignorant of the important European aid, 
they were again rejected. The English ministry proposed, 
that no military force should be stationed in North America, 
without the approbation of the colonies ; and that, to re- 
move the former objections against the laying on of taxes, 
unless with an accompanying representation, provincial 
deputies should be allowed a seat in the parliament of Brit- 
ain. But the United States would consider no propositions 
v/hich did not include their independence. Their citizens 
could not be intimidated in the field, nor purchased in the 
cabinet. To an offer of court remuneration, made through 
a late royal governor, Johnstone, to an influential member 
of congress, the patriot replied : " I am not worth purchas- 
ing ; yet, such as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich 
enough to buy me." 

It has already been mentioned, that the hostile armies of 
Washington and Howe had withdrawn into their respective 
winter quarters ; the former to the huts at Valley Forge , 
the latter, into the warm accommodation of Philadelphia. 
That season, and the early part of summer, had almost 
elapsed, without producing any events more remarkable 
than a few successful excursions of the ioval troops into the 
13 



146 



HISTORY OF 



neighbouring country, for the purpose of bringing in sup- 
plies, and destroying merchandise and shipping. The trea- 
ty with France roused both armies from their long-contin- 
ued inaction. Apprehensive that a French fleet would be 
despatched to block up the British squadron in the Dela- 
ware, the ministry ordered sir Henry Clinton, who had re- 
cently succeeded general Howe in the command of the 
British army, to evacuate Philadelphia, and concentrate the 
royal forces in New York. Accordingly, the troops in that 
city passed, on the 22d of June, by the way of Gloucester 
Point, into New Jersey. The intended movement was not 
unknown to Washington. He immediately sent general 
Maxwell's brigade to co-operate with the Jersey militia in 
obstructing their progress ; then, crossing the Delaware at 
Coryell's Ferry, above Trenton, followed with his whole ar- 
my, and halted in the vicinity of Princeton. From this, fif- 
teen hundred men were detached, to act against their flanks 
and rear, under the command of general Scott. The British 
were at this time proceeding towards Sandy Hook, by the 
way of Allentown and Monmouth court-house. Another 
detachment was sent forward, under general Wayne, ac- 
companied by La Fayette : the latter having orders to take 
charge of both the advanced parties ; a command which af- 
terwards devolved on Lee ; who had been exchanged for 
general Prescott. The main body followed at a proper dis- 
tance, and reached Cranbury on the 28th. But, when they 
had proceeded a few miles farther, Washington was sur- 
prised to find Lee retreating ; without having offered any 
obstruction of importance. The commander-in-chief re- 
monstrated ; Lee replied with warmth and unbecoming lan- 
guage ; but, at length, consented to fight the enemy on a 
piece of ground which Washington assigned him. A warm 
cannonade immediately began between the artillery, and a 
heavy firing of musketry between the advanced troops, of 
the British and Americans. The latter stood their ground 
until intermixed with the enemy ; and general Lee was the 
last on the field of battle, and brought off the rear of the re- 
tiring troops. The advantage, however, which the British 
thus gained, was only momentary. The check which they 
had received enabled Washington to make a favourable dis- 
position of his left wing and his second line in a wood ; and 
to plant some cannon on an eminence, under the able direc- 
tion of lord Stirling. Generals Greene and Wayne, also, 
bore a conspicuous part in the engagement ; which was 
continued with much spirit until dark. In the night, the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



147 



British troops went off, with -so much silence, that general 
Poor, though very near them, knew nothing of their de- 
parture ; and, continuing their march without farther in- 
terruption, they soon reached Sandy Hook. The Ameri- 
cans proceeded for the borders of North River. Colonel 
Bonner, of Pennsylvania, and major Dickinson, of Virginia, 
two highly-esteemed officers, were amongst the slain. Be- 
sides the usual destruction attending military engagements, 
the emotions of the mind, added to fatigue in a very hot 
day, brought on so great a suppression of the vital powers, 
that sixty of the British, and some of the Americans, were 
found dead on the field of battle, without any marks of vio- 
lence. 

The conduct of general Lee could not be withheld from 
investigation. The public interest demanded a proper scru- 
tiny. He was tried by a court martial ; and, being pro- 
nounced guilty of making an unnecessary retreat ; of dis- 
obedience of orders, and disrespect to the commander-in- 
chief; was sentenced to be suspended from his professional 
functions for the space of one year : a judgment, which, 
though approved by the majority in the United States, was 
not without dissentients ; as, while every one admitted his 
violence, and impatience of subordination, none seemed to 
question his fidelity and courage. 

Soon after the battle of Monmouth, the American army 
took a station at White Plains, beyond Kingsbridge ; where, 
the British, though only a few miles distant, did not molest 
them. They remained there from an early day in July until 
nearly the end of autumn, and then retired to Middle Brook, 
in Jersey; at which place, they built for themselves huts, 
in the same manner as at Valley Forge. 

Immediately on the departure of the British from Phila- 
delphia, congress returned to its former place of delibera- 
tion, and soon afterwards, had a new, and most pleasing, 
duty, to perform — to give public audience to a minister 
plenipotentiary of France. Thus, in little more than a cen- 
tury and a half from the period when their struggling germ 
was planted amidst the forest, the United States had attain- 
ed an elevated rank amongst the sovereign nations of the 
earth. 

The first object of the French fleet, as had been conjee 
tured by the British government, was to surprise their ad- 
miral in the Delaware. But its passage from Toulon had 
been so tedious, that lord Howe, by sailing to New York, 
was enabled to evade the almost certain mortification of 



149 



HISTORY OF 



yielding to a doubly superior force , a remarkable escape ; 
from which, as the interest of the colonies did not finally 
suffer, it is not, in one point of view, to be regretted. The 
subsequent conduct of the French admiral, D'Estaign, in 
avoiding his antagonist ; who, though re-enforced by a squad- 
ron sent from England with lord Byron, was still his infe- 
rior ; induces a generous mind to withhold, even from one's 
ally, an easily acquired victory. Much inconvenience, ac- 
crued to the land-troops of the United States from this want 
of co-operation by the admiral ; and Rhode Island was evac- 
uated by the brave men intrusted with its recovery from 
the British. 

The disastrous invasion of Canada had not taught con- 
gress the impolicy of carrying the w T ar beyond the limits of 
the Union : an enterprise against Florida, conducted by the 
American general Howe, with two thousand men, of whom 
a fourth fell victims to the climate, exhibited, again, the 
unprofitable waste of foreign expeditions. 

Hitherto, the British had made only a feeble effort to 
promote the grand object of the war, by operations in the 
south. More than two years of. comparative peace had 
been allowed that portion of the states. But, Georgia, 
one of the weakest members of the Union, and, moreover, 
abounding with provisions, being now marked out as the 
most advantageous ground on which to try the fortune of 
the English arms, colonel Campbell, an officer of known 
courage and ability, arrived in November, at Savannah, 
with about two thousand men. From the landing-place, 
a naiiow causeway of six hundred yards in length, with a 
ditch on each side, led through a swamp. A body of the 
British light infantry moved forward along this passage. 
On their advance, they received a heavy fire from a small 
party, under the command of captain Smith ; but the Brit- 
ish forced their way, and compelled him to retreat. Gen- 
eral Howe, the American officer to whom the defence of 
Georgia was committed, took his station on the main 
road ; and posted his little army, consisting of about one 
thousand continentals and militia, between the landing- 
place and the town : with the river on his left, and a morass 
in front : a position which offered great difficulties before 
he could be dislodged. But these were obviated by a for- 
tuitous event. Information being received from a negro, 
of an unguarded path through the swamp, a party of the 
British found their way unobserved, and appeared in the 
rear of the Americans. Howe ordered an immediate re- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



149 



treat ; the British pursued : upwards of a hundred Amer- 
icans were killed ; four hundred and fifty officers and pri- 
vates, seven pieces of cannon, the fort, with its ammunition 
and stores, the shipping in the river, and a large quantity 
of provisions, were all, in the space of a few hours, in pos- 
session of the enemy. 

With the capital of Georgia, the entire province seemed 
re-united to the British crown. Colonel Campbell acted 
w T ith great policy in securing the submission of the inhabit- 
ants. His moderation and prudence were more successful 
in reconciling their minds to the regal government, than 
the severity which had generally been adopted by other 
British commanders ; as Georgia was the only state in the 
Union, in which, after the declaration of independence, a 
legislative body assembled under the authority of Great 
Britain. 

Meanwhile, general Prevost arrived, with his troops 
from St. Augustine, and, having in his way overpowered 
the garrison at Sunbury, took the command of all the Brit- 
ish forces in the province : at w T hich period, the campaign 
ended ; the least animated of any since the beginning of 
the war. 

In the American marine, severe loss had been sustained, 
from the destruction of some of its largest vessels in the 
Delaware ; yet, for these misfortunes, regret produced no 
higher feeling than had arisen from the diminution of na- 
tional power. But the fate of the Randolph was unusually 
afflicting. This vessel, a frigate of thirty-six guns and 
three hundred men, having sailed on a cruise from Charles- 
ton, and engaged, in the night, an English vessel of sixty- 
four guns, in about a quarter of an hour, blew up ; when 
only four of her men were saved upon the fragment of the 
wreck. These had subsisted, during four days, on rain- 
water, which they drank from a piece of blanket. On the 
fifth day, captain Vincent, of the British vessel, Yarmouth, 
on discovering them, humanely suspended a chase, and 
took the wretched sufferers on board. Captain Biddle, the 
commander of the Randolph, was universally lamented. 
In the prime of life ; skilled in his professional duties ; bold 
in their execution; he had excited high anticipations of fu- 
ture benefit to his country. 

The inadequacy of the provision made for the support of 
military officers, had induced many resignations. This 
forced on congress some improvement in their condition. 
From a conviction of the justice and policy of rendering 
13* 



150 



HISTORY OF 



commissions valuable, impressed by the warm but disinte- 
rested recommendations of general Washington, that body- 
resolved, that half-pay should be allowed their officers, for 
the term of seven years after the expiration of their service, 
a remuneration subsequently extended to the duration of 
their lives. 

Throughout the year into which we are now en- 
tering, the British aimed at little more, in the states 
to the north of Carolina, than depredation and distress. 
For this purpose, they planned several expeditions. Sir 
George Collier and general Matthews, accompanied by na- 
val and land-forces, having, in May, proceeded to Virginia, 
took possession of Portsmouth ; crossed the river to the 
remains of Norfolk, and seized the shipping. They next 
marched to Suffolk, Kemp's Landing, Gosport, and other 
places in the neighbourhood ; burned or otherwise destroyed 
the naval stores, shipping, and provisions ; and, embarking 
with three thousand hogsheads of tobacco, returned in safe- 
ty to New York. Soon afterwards, governor Tryon was 
despatched, with a similar intention, against Connecticut. 
Accompanied by a numerous force, under the escort of ad- 
miral Collier, he landed at East Haven ; then, visited New 
Haven, Fairfield, and Nonvalk : in each of which places, 
there was exhibited a barbarous scene of plunder and con- 
flagration, insult and devastation. No object was too valua- 
ble, none too contemptible, to save it from destruction, or 
their grasp. No building was sufficiently sacred to restrain 
the torch : what was spared by one party, in the morning, 
was, by another, in the evening, destroyed. 

While they were carrying on this desultory warfare, the 
American army was incapable of covering the country ; or 
the navy, of protecting the creeks and harbours. Had 
Yv r ashington divided his army, in conformity with the 
wishes of the invaded, he would ,have subjected his whole 
force to be destroyed. It was, therefore, his uniform prac* 
tice, to risk no more than was consistent with the general 
safety : and to lie, with his main body, at a convenient dis- 
tance from the head quarters of the British. His army 
was, at this period, stationed on both sides of the North 
river ; the enemy, within their lines, at New York. 

This campaign, though barren of important events, was 
distinguished, on the fifteenth of July, by one of the most 
gallant enterprises that occurred during the whole war, — 
the capture of Stony-Point, on the North river, by general 
Wayne. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



151 



But that achievement, as well as the brilliant surprise of 
an English garrison at Paulus Hook, by major Lee, was 
more than counterbalanced by the disastrous termination 
of an enterprise undertaken by the state of Massachusetts, 
without the knowledge of general Washington, against a 
British post at Penobscot. The land-forces were intrusted 
to general Lovel ; the fleet, to commodore Saltonstall. In- 
stead of boldly assaulting the half-finished works, upon 
which not a single gun was, at his first appearance, mount- 
ed, the general sat respectfully down, at seven hundred 
and fifty yards distance, as before a regular fortification, 
proceeded to erect a battery, and cannonaded the feebly de- 
fended place, for about a fortnight. This delay gave time 
for admiral Collier to arrive with his squadron to its relief. 
The American fleet, being overpowered, was either captured 
or destroyed. Lovel converted the siege into a retreat, and, 
not only with his soldiers, but the seamen also, who had 
escaped on shore, had to return to Boston, a great part of the 
way by land, through thick and unfrequented woods. 

We must again turn our attention to the southern states. 
In Carolina and Georgia, the royal forces were now carry- 
ing on a vigorous warfare. Although, in the north, hostili- 
ties had no other than the avowed object of wasting a coun- 
try which could not be retained, the re-establishment of 
British authority was seriously attempted in the south. To 
the command of the American forces in that quarter, con- 
gress appointed general Lincoln. But his army, except a 
few hundred regulars, consisted only of inexperienced, dis- 
orderly militia ; who added more to his numbers, than to his 
strength. 

The first object of the British at Savannah, after being 
re-enforced by the junction of the troops from St. Augustine, 
was to obtain possession of Port Royal, in Carolina. From 
this, however, their detachment was gallantly repulsed, by 
general Moultrie. Restrained in that direction, they ex- 
tended themselves over a great part of Georgia; fixing posts 
at Ebenezer and Augusta, and endeavouring to increase 
their strength, by drawing to their standard the " tories" 
in the western districts of this state and Carolina. Several 
hundred of these royalists proceeded towards Augusta. 
Their general character was that of a plundering banditti, 
more solicitous for booty than for the interest of the king. 
They immediately began to rob the defenceless settlements 
But they were not allowed to commit, with impunity, so 
atrocious an outrage against society. Colonel P'ckens 



152 



HISTORY OF 



having assembled a few hundred of the inhabitants, over- 
took them at Kettle-creek; and, in three-quarters of an hour, 
killed, captured, or dispersed the whole.. 

General Lincoln fixed encampments on the Carolina side 
of the Savannah river, at Black Swamp, nearly opposite to 
Augusta. From these posts, he formed a plan of enter- 
ing Georgia ; with a view of confining the British to the low 
country, near the ocean. In the execution of this design, 
general Ashe, w T ith fifteen hundred North Carolina militia, 
and a few regular troops, after crossing the Savannah, took 
a position on Briar-creek ; but, on the 3d of March, he was 
surprised by colonel Prevost ; who, having made a circuit- 
ous march, came on his rear with nine hundred men. The 
militia were thrown into confusion, and fled at the first fire. 
One hundred and fifty of the Americans were killed, and as 
many taken prisoners. The few continentals, under Elbert, 
made a brave resistance ; but the survivors of this body, 
with their gallant leader, were at last compelled to surren- 
der. This event was a serious misfortune. It deprived 
general Lincoln of one fourth of his numbers, and opened a 
communication between the British, the Indians, and the 
royalists of North and South Carolina. 

Great apprehensions were accordingly entertained for the 
safety of the adjacent states. The militia of South Caro- 
lina was therefore more efficiently organized, a regiment of 
cavalry embodied, and John Rutledge, a man of distinguish- 
ed abilities, called to the provincial chair ; and, in conjunc- 
tion with his council, invested with dictatorial power. The 
original design of penetrating into Georgia, was now re- 
sumed ; and troops, under general Lincoln, for that purpose 
began their march. But, when he had ascended about a 
hundred and fifty miles towards the head of the Savannah, 
general Prevost, availing himself of the critical moment, 
crossed, with twenty-four hundred, over the same river, into 
Carolina. Proceeding for the capital, he drove before him 
one division left under Moultrie, to defend the frontiers ; 
but, at the same time, he was himself followed by another, 
under Lincoln ; who had re-crossed the Savannah, intend- 
ing to arrest the enemy's progress to Charleston. Had the 
British general continued his march, with the same rapidi- 
ty with winch it was begun, he might have entered the 
town by a coup-de-main : but he halted two or three days, 
when advanced nearly half the distance ; and, thus, allow- 
ed the Carolinians to make extensive preparations for its 
defence. For its security, all the houses in the suburbs 



THE UNITED STATES. 



153 



were burned ; lines were carried, in its rear, across the 
peninsula, between Ashley and Cooper rivers, cannon 
mounted along the whole extent, and three thousand men 
assembled within the works. 

The main body and baggage of the English army being 
left on the south side of Ashley river, a detachment of nine 
hundred men crossed the ferry, and appeared before the 
town. But, after a short stay, which, the defenders had 
artfully consumed by negotiations, the British general, in- 
formed that Lincoln was coming on his rear, retreated with 
his whole force to the islands near the sea. Both armies 
observed each other's motions, until the 20th of June ; 
when, an attack was made by general Lincoln, with about 
twelve hundred men, on six or seven hundred of the British, 
advantageously posted at Stono-ferry : but, owing to some 
mismanagement, by which the assailants were disappointed 
in support, they were under the necessity of withdrawing, 
after being deprived of the services of one hundred and fifty 
men, who were killed or wounded. Amongst the slain, 
was colonel Roberts ; an artillery officer of distinguished 
abilities. Bred to arms in his native country, England, he 
had been particularly serviceable in diffusing military know- 
ledge amongst the less informed of the American officers. 
His last moments were truly characteristic of the soldier. 
Being visited on the field of battle by his son, captain Rob- 
erts, of his own regiment, .the expiring father, presenting 
to him his sword, " Behave worthy of it," he said ; " use it 
in defence of liberty and your country. Return to your 
proper station : there, you may be useful ; but, to me, you 
can now be of no service." 

Immediately after this repulse, the American militia, 
wearied by absence from their homes, retired to their plan- 
tations : the continentals, under the command of Lincoln, 
withdrew to Sheldon ; a healthy situation in the vicinity of 
Beaufort ; and the British retreated to Port Royal and Sa- 
vannah. 

Both armies remained in their respective encampments, 
until the arrival of a French fleet off the coast of Georgia, 
roused the whole country to activity. Admiral D'Estaign, 
by the desire of the authorities in Carolina, having sailed, 
on the first of September, from the West Indies, appeared 
so unexpectedly to the British, that a ship of fifty guns ana 
three frigates fell into his hands. General Lincoln march 
ed towards Savannah ; and orders were given for the militia 
of Georgia and South Carolina to rendezvous near the same 



154 



HISTORY OF 



place. The British were equally diligent in preparing for 
defence. D'Estaign, previous to the arrival of Lincoln, 
had demanded the surrender of the town ; upon which, 
Prevost asked for a suspension of hostilities, during twenty- 
four hours, that he might prepare terms of capitulation. 
This was inconsiderately granted. Before the time elapsed, 
several hundred British soldiers, who had been stationed at 
Beaufort, made their w r ay through many obstacles, and 
joined the royal army in Savannah ; and the works were 
hourly strengthened by the labour of the negroes, directed 
by a skilful engineer. As the hurricane season was ap- 
proaching, when it would be imprudent for D'Estaign to 
risk his fleet on so dangerous a coast, no alternative remain- 
ed, but an assault, or an immediate retreat. A sense of hon- 
our determined the besiegers to adopt the former. On the 9th 
of October, before day, two feints were made with the coun- 
try militia, and a real attack on Spring-Hill battery, with 
thirty-five hundred French troops, six hundred continent- 
als, and three hundred and fifty inhabitants of Charleston, 
under the command of D'Estaign and Lincoln : but a heavy 
fire from the batteries and the shipping threw the front of 
their columns into confusion. Two standards were, notwith- 
standing, planted on the British redoubts : after which, it 
became necessary to retreat. Six hundred of the French, 
and upwards of two hundred of the Americans, were killed 
or wounded. D'Estaign and count Pulaski were wounded ; 
the latter, mortally. The force of the garrison was between 
two and three thousand. Their loss was trifling ; as they 
fired from behind a cover, and few of the assailants return- 
ed a shot. 

Not many hours before this attack, a council of war had 
been held by the assailants, the determinations of which 
became known to a spy, who had the address to stand as 
sentinel at the entrance of the tent where the officers were 
deliberating ; and, escaping in the dark, conveyed their in- 
tention to the British. 

The siege being raised, D'Estaign re-embarked his 
troops ; the continentals retreated over the Savannah river ; 
and the militia again returned to their plantations. The 
presence of the French admiral in the American waters 
was not, however, without benefit to the republican interest. 
It caused a useful diversion of the royal troops, and the 
garrison of Rhode Island was accordingly withdrawn, on 
the 15th of October, into New York. 

While the fate of Savannah was pending, an enterprise 



THE UNITED STATES. 



155 



was effected by colonel John White, of the Georgia militia ; 
which, for extraordinary success, cannot, it is conceived, 
be paralleled in the annals of military achievements. Cap- 
tain French had been stationed, with about one hundred 
British soldiers, near the river Ogechee. There were also 
at the same place forty sailors, on board of five English 
vessels ; four of which were armed. All these men, together 
with the vessels, were surrendered to colonel White, cap- 
tain Elholm, and four others ; one of whom was the colonel's 
servant. On the preceding night, this small party had 
kindled a number of fires, and adopted the parade of a large 
encampment ; by which, and a variety of other stratagems, 
the British officer, impressed with an opinion that nothing 
but immediate submission, in conformity with a perempto- 
ry summons, could save his men from being cut to pieces 
by a superior force, yielded, without making any resist- 
ance. 

Although this campaign affords several instances of dis- 
tinguished vigour, yet, on the whole, it is remarkable for 
the general lethargy of the Americans. Causes which had 
previously excited their energy, had, in a great measure, 
lost their influence. In the beginning of the war, enthusiasm 
for liberty made them indifferent as to the most valuable 
property, and fearless of the greatest dangers. Their suc- 
cesses had gained them allies, and their allies had inspired 
confidence. The brisk circulation of a large quantity of 
paper money, had caused both activity and decision. Every 
fear of an unsuccessful termination of the contest, was, by 
these means, banished, and every past misfortune unlamented. 
But, the failure of each succeeding scheme of co-operation 
with the French, produced despondency amongst the troops ; 
the depreciation of the paper money, stagnation in the pur- 
suits of commerce ; and it was, for a time, doubtful, whether 
the Americans were to be independent citizens or conquered 
subjects.* 



* The depreciation of the continental money, the manner of redeem- 
ing- which, can never be considered by an honest mind, without feelings of 
deep regret, began at different periods in the different states ; but, in gen- 
eral, about the middle of 1777 : two years after its first appearance. To- 
wards the end of that year, the depreciation was about two or three for 
one. In 1778, it increased to six, and, in the following year, to twenty- 
eight, for one : in 1780, when it amounted to two hundred millions, to fifty 
or sixty for one of silver ; after which period, its circulation was only par- 
tial; but, where it did pass, it soon fell to one hundred and fifty for one 
In ft few placet, it continued in circulation for the first four or five month* 



156 



HISTORY OF 



No sooner was the departure of the French fleet from 
Savannah known to the British in New York, than sir Hen- 
ry Clinton, assigning the command of the royal army in this 
city to general Kniphausen, embarked for the south, with 
seventeen regiments of foot, two hundred and fifty cavalry, 
and a powerful detachment of battering and field guns. 
After a tedious and dangerous passage, in which, most of 
Ijqq the artillery and all the cavalry horses were lost, 
the troops effected a landing, on the 4th of February, 
about thirty miles from Charleston ; took possession of 
John's Island and Stono-ferry, James's Island and Wappoo- 
Cut ; and, having thrown a bridge over a canal, part of their 
number took post on the banks of Ashley river, opposite to 
Charleston. 

The governor of the state immediately summoned the 
militia : but,- though the necessity was great, few obeyed 
the pressing call. He did not, however, neglect any means 
that could induce their assembling. When the love of 
country was insufficient to promote resistance to the com- 
mon enemy, he appealed to another passion ; which, in the 
absence of the former, is seldom found inactive. Under his 
extraordinary powers, he issued a proclamation, requiring 
those in the country who had been regularly enrolled, and 
all the inhabitants of Charleston capable of bearing arms, 
to join the American standard, under pain of confiscation. 
Still, however, their brethren in the capital received only 
trifling aid from the people of the interior. 

Sir Henry Clinton, after being re-enforced from the gar- 
rison of Savannah, made arrangements for commencing the 
siege. He formed a depot, and erected fortifications, on 
James's Island, as well as on the main land, opposite to the 
southern and western extremities of the city, and sent 
across the Ashley an advanced, party ; who, on the first of 
April, broke ground at the distance of eleven hundred 
yards from the American works. At successive periods, 
he erected five batteries on Charleston Neck ; and, alto- 
gether, conducted his approach on a scale of magnitude 
seldom witnessed before a town, which, notwithstanding 
the assiduity of the garrison, had no other defences than 



ot 1781 ; but, at this time, many would not take it at any price ; and they 
who did, received it at the rate of several hundreds for one. Besides that 
immense sum, the paper bills of the individual states amounted to many 
millions j which addei still further to its depreciation. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



157 



common field-works. The British marine force, consist- 
ing of eight frigates, carrying in all two hundred and eigh- 
ty guns, crossed the bar, and anchored in Five-Fathom 
Hole. The American fleet, composed of nine ships, under 
commodore Whipple, mounting only two hundred and 
twenty guns, was not thought equal to engage the enemy, 
and therefore fell back to the city ; where, the commodore 
landed his men and guns, to re-enforce the batteries. On 
the 9th of April, the British admiral passed all the forts in 
the harbour ; after which, colonel Pinckney, and a part of 
the men under his command, were withdrawn from Sulli- 
van's Island into Charleston. Fort Moultrie surrendered on 
the 6th of May. On the same day, the remains of the 
American cavalry, which had escaped from a late surprise 
at Monk's Corner, were again surprised, by colonel Tarle- 
ton, at Laneau's ferry, on the Santee ; when the whole were 
either killed or captured, or dispersed ; and the British thus 
gained entire command of Cooper River. Their batteries 
of the third parallel were opened. Shells were thrown into 
almost every quarter of the town, and several houses were 
burned. The cannon played at a less distance than a hun- 
dred yards. The Hessian chasseurs were so near the Amer- 
ican lines, that they could easily strike any object on them 
with their rifles. The British crossed the wet ditch by sap, 
advanced within twenty-five yards of the works, and were 
ready for making a general assault, by land and water. All 
expectation of succour was at an end. The only remaining 
hope was, that nine thousand men, the flower of the British 
army, supported by a naval force, might fail in storming 
extensive lines, defended by less than three thousand. The 
period was awful. Perseverance might provoke revenge, 
but could not ensure success. On the 11th of May, a num- 
ber of the citizens addressed general Lincoln ; declaring 
their acquiescence in the terms of surrender which the be- 
siegers had some time before offered, and urging him to 
accept them. The general wrote, accordingly, to sir Hen- 
ry Clinton ; who, wishing to avoid the extremity of entering 
the town by storm, and unwilling to press the unconditional 
surrender of an enemy whose friendship he wished to con- 
ciliate, returned a favourable answer. A capitulation was 
signed on the 12th; and, on the next day, the British took 
possession of the city. By this agreement, the garrison 
were to march out of the town, and deposit their arms in 
front of the works ; but their drums were not to beat a Brit 
ish march, nor their colours to be uncased. The continent 
14 



158 



HISTORY OF 



al troops and seamen were to retain their baggage, and re- 
main prisoners of war until exchanged. The militia were 
allowed to return home, as prisoners on parole ; and the in- 
habitants of the town were placed in the same situation. 

The number that surrendered, including every adult 
male inhabitant, was five thousand ; but the proper garri- 
son did not exceed twenty-five hundred. The artillery 
amounted to four hundred. The loss on both sides, during 
the siege, was nearly equal : of the Americans, eighty-nine 
were killed, and one hundred and forty wounded : of the 
royal army, seventy-six were killed, and one hundred and 
eighty-nine wounded. 

After the fall of Charleston, the Alliance and Deane 
frigates were the only remnant of the American navy. 
These were soon afterwards sold, the navy-board dissolved, 
and all maritime adventures ceased, except by the armed 
vessels of individuals. 

The next object with the British, was to secure the gen- 
eral submission of the state. To this end, they posted gar- 
risons in different parts of the country, and sent two thou- 
sand men towards North Carolina. Colonel Tarleton ad- 
vanced rapidly, with about seven hundred horse, in pursuit 
of three or four hundred infantry, and a few cavalry, who 
were retreating under colonel Buford ; and, having over- 
taken them at the Waxhaws, brought them to an action : 
in which, though the Americans had, in the very begin- 
ning, sued for quarter, the greater part of their number 
were either killed, or so cruelly mangled, as to be incapable 
of being removed from the field of battle. 

Early in June, sir Henry Clinton, leaving about four 
thousand men for the southern service, embarked, with the 
main army, for New York. On his departure, the command 
devolved on lord Cornwall] s ; who, having committed the 
care of the frontier to lord Rawdon, (afterwards entitled 
earl of Moira, and marquis of Hastings,) repaired to 
Charleston ; where he devoted his principal attention to the 
civil regulations of the state. In the meantime, the im- 
possibility of removing with their families and property, 
and the want of an army, around whose standard they might 
repair, induced the people, except in the extremities of the 
province bordering on North Carolina, to relinquish all 
schemes of further resistance. This was followed by an 
unusual calm; which induced the British to suppose that 
the state was entirely conquered. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



159 



As the enemy advanced to the upper districts, a consid- 
erable number of patriots retreated before them, and took 
refuge in North Carolina. Amongst these, was colonel 
Sumpter ; a distinguished individual, whom a party of exiles 
had selected as their leader. They had no pay, no uniforms, 
nor any certain means of subsistence : they lived upon what 
chance, or their own courage, provided them. They ex- 
perienced even a want of arms and ammunition ; but they 
made themselves rude weapons from the instruments of 
husbandry ; and, instead of balls of lead, they cast them of 
pewter, from the dishes furnished by the patriots for that 
purpose. But these resources were far from being suffi- 
cient. They several times encountered the enemy with 
only three charges of ammunition to each man ; and some, 
who were without arms, remained aside, waiting until the 
death or wounds of their companions permitted them to 
take their place. Having, at the head of this little band 
of freemen, returned to his own state, Sumpter took the 
field against the victorious invaders; and, on the 12th of 
July, two months after the fall of Charleston, routed a de- 
tachment posted in a rane at Williamson's plantation ; the 
first effort of renewed warfare, and the first advantage gain- 
ed over the British, since their landing in the beginning of 
the year. His troops, which were, at this time, only one 
hundred, increased, in a few days, to six hundred. With 
these, he made a spirited attack on a party at Rocky Mount : 
but, as he had no artillery, and the enemy were secured be- 
hind a breast-work, he was obliged to retreat. His next en- 
terprise more than compensated for this disappointment. 
Having attacked another detachment, consisting of a small 
British regiment and a large body of royalists, posted at 
Hanging-Rock, he almost totally destroyed the former, and 
dispersed the latter, who had advanced from North Caro- 
lina, under colonel Bryan. This achievement produced 
most important advantages. The panic, occasioned by the 
fall of Charleston, daily abated. The whig militia, on the 
extremities of the state, formed themselves into parties, un- 
der leaders of their own choice, and harassed the royal ar- 
my with continual disturbance. 

W T hile Sumpter kept up the spirit of the people, by a 
succession of gallant enterprises, a respectable continental 
force was advancing through the middle states to their re- 
lief. These, consisting of the Maryland and Delaware 
troops, under general Gates, reached Clermont, thirteen 



160 



HISTORY OF 



miles from Camden, about the middle of August ; after 
escaping imminent danger of destruction, from the heat of 
the season, the unhealthy climate, and insufficiency of food 
in passing many hundred miles, through pine barrens, 
swamps, and sand-hills. 

As those indefatigable Americans were approaching, lord 
Rawdon concentrated his forces at Camden. Encouraged 
by these favourable events, — the retreat of the enemy from 
their out-posts, and the appearance of their friends ; the citi- 
zens of Carolina, impatient of insolence, rapine, and sub- 
jection, rejoiced in the prospect of freeing their country 
from its oppressors. Gates displayed the utmost energy 
and wisdom in fostering the growing spirit* His measures 
were followed by a general revolt; and his strength, increas- 
ed by the arrival of some Virginia militia, led by general 
Stephens, promised a durable emancipation. His army was 
nearly four thousand men ; of whom, however, only a fourth 
were regulars. On the approach of Gates, lord Cornwallis 
hastened from Charleston to Camden ; where he arrived on 
the 14th of August. His force did not exceed two thou- 
sand ; an inferiority which would have justified a retreat: 
but, choosing rather to stake his fortune on the decision of 
an immediate battle, he marched from Camden on the fol- 
lowing night ; intending to attack the Americans in their 
camp at Clermont. Gates, also, having moved forward, 
that he might secure an advantageous position, their ad- 
vanced parties met in the night, and engaged. The Amer- 
ican cavalry recoiled at the first fire, and threw the whole 
line of the main body into confusion. But they soon re- 
covered their order, and both armies skirmished until morn- 
ing. When the day broke, the engagement became gene- 
ral. The Americans suffered a heavy loss. At the first 
onset, nearly all the Virginia militia, on being charged with 
bayonets, threw down their arms, and fled ; and a consider- 
able part of the North Carolina militia followed the unwor- 
thy example. But the regular troops of Maryland and 
Delaware, commanded by a German officer, baron de Kalb, 
bravely maintained their ground, until overpowered by 
numbers, and almost surrounded. The British took two 
hundred and ninety wounded prisoners ; of whom, two hun- 
dred were continentals, eighty were North Carolina, and 
*wo Virginia militia ; together with the whole of the Amer- 
ican artillery, two hundred wagons, and the greater part 
of the baggage. General Gregory, who commanded that 



THE UNITED STATES. 



161 



portion of the North Carolina militia which continued in 
action, was twice wounded by a bayonet. Baron de Kalb, 
the second in command under general Gates, was taken 
prisoner by Tarleton's cavalry, and died, on the next day, 
of his wounds. Congress resolved that a monument, with 
a very honourable inscription, should be erected to his 
memory, at Annapolis ; which, it is to be regretted, has not 
yet been executed. 

To imbitter the distressing situation of the Americans, 
the defeat of Gates was followed by the surprise and disper- 
sion of Sumpter's corps. Sumpter, now promoted to the 
lank of brigadier-general, after taking a number of prison- 
ers, and depriving the British of some stores, had found it 
expedient, on learning the misfortune which had befallen 
his superior, to retreat ; when, his party, overcome by fa- 
tigue, and unable to observe even the usual caution in guard- 
ing against surprise, w T ere attacked at Fishing-creek ; and all 
that were not killed or captured, were dispersed. 

South Carolina seemed a second time subdued. Those 
who had nobly entered the field of battle, were scattered or 
imprisoned ; or had fallen, never again to aid in rescuing 
their country. Some, whose professions, or imbecilities, 
had prevented them from becoming soldiers, but whose 
firmness on the side of liberty made them, even when at 
home, dangerous enemies to the invaders, were banished 
from the state ; many submitted to the victors through ne- 
cessity ; others through inclination. The mischievous ef- 
fects of slavery now became apparent. As the slaves had 
no interest in their own persons, a change of masters was 
to them no misfortune ; as they had no interest in the state, 
its subjugation was a matter of triumph. 

After the defeat of general Gates, the miserable remnant 
of his army, which had rendezvoused at Charlotte, retreat- 
ed to Salisbury, and from Salisbury to Hillsborough. There 
was no army to oppose lord Cornwallis. But, what was 
wanting in the strength of one party, was in a great measure 
supplied by the weakness of the other. Unaccustomed to 
the noxious air of a Carolina summer, sickness restrained 
the weapcns which could not be opposed, and checked the 
British soldiers in their pursuit of conquest. 

About the time when Sumpter was rewarded with the 
rank of general, another partisan was advanced to the same 
rank. This was Marion ; an ardent and zealous officer, 
highly and most deservedly celebrated in the annals of his 
country. For several weeks he had under his command 
14* 



162 



HISTORY OF 



only seventy men ; at one time, not more than twenty-five. 
Yet, with this little band, he kept the field amidst sur- 
rounding foes, and harassed the quarters of the royal army 
by unremitting sallies. With only thirty companions, he 
surprised and captured in the night a party of ninety Brit- 
ish soldiers, on their march to Charleston with two hun 
dred American prisoners. But open resistance to British 
government was not confined to those. There , was, with 
out any. apparent concert, a powerful combination of sev 
eral commanders of the adjacent states. Colonel Camp- 
bell, of Virginia ; colonels Cleveland, Shelby, Sevier, and 
M'Bowell, of North Carolina ; together with colonels La- 
cey, Hawthorn, and Hill, of South Carolina ; assembled with 
sixteen hundred men : though they were under no general 
command, and were not called upon by any authority what- 
ever. They had so little of the mechanism of a regular 
army, that the colonels, by mutual consent, commanded, 
each in rotation, for a day. The hardships suffered by these 
volunteers were great. At night, the earth afforded them 
a bed, and the limbs of trees were their only covering, 
Ears of corn or pumpions, thrown into the fire, with occa- 
sional supplies of beef or venison, killed and roasted in the 
woods, were the chief articles of their provision. The run- 
ning stream quenched their thirst : they had neither spiritu- 
ous liquors nor stores of any kind. 

A particular instance of privation deserves recording. 
A British officer, having been sent from Georgetown, to ne- 
gotiate an exchange of prisoners, was conducted, after the 
usual ceremony of blindfolding, into Marion's encampment. 
When the business was concluded, the officer took up his 
hat to retire. — " Oh, no !" said Marion, " it is now about 
our time of dining ; and I hope, sir, you will give us the 
pleasure of your company to dinner." — On mention of the 
word dinner, the British officer looked around him ; but, 
to his great mortification, could see neither pot nor pan, 
nor any other utensil that could raise the spirits of a hun- 
gry man. — "Come, Tom," said the general, to one of his 
men, " give us oar dinner." — The dinner, to which he al- 
luded, was no other than a few sweet potatoes roasting un- 
der the embers, and which, Tom, with his pine-stick poker, 
soon drew from their concealment ; pinching them, every now 
and then, with his fingers, especially the large ones, to ascer- 
tain whether they were sufficiently roasted : then, having 
cleansed them from the ashes, partly by blowing them with 
his breath, and partly by brushing them with the sleeve of his 



THE UNITED STATES. 



163 



old cotton shirt, he piled some of the best on a large piece 
of bark, and placed them between the British officer and 
Marion, on the trunk of a fallen pine, on which they sat. — 
" I fear, sir," said the general, " our dinner will not prove 
so palatable as I could wish; but it is the best we have." — 
The officer, who was a well-bred man, took up one of the 
potatoes, affecting to eat it, as if he had found a great dain- 
ty : but presently, he broke out into a hearty laugh. Mari- 
ca looked surprised. — "I beg pardon, general," said the 
other; "I was only thinking, how drolly some of my brother 
officers would look, if our government were to give them 
such a bill of fare as this !" — " I suppose," replied Marion, 
" it is not equal to their style of dining." — " No, indeed/' 
said the officer ; " but this, I imagine, is one of your acci- 
dental lent dinners: in general, no doubt, you live much bet- 
ter." — " Rather worse," rejoined the American ; " for often 
we don't get enough of this." — " But, though stinted in 
provisions, you draw noble pay" — " Not a cent, sir," re- 
plied Marion, — " not a cent." — 

On his return to Georgetown, he was asked by colonel 
Watson, why he looked so serious. — " I have cause, sir," 
replied he, "to look serious." — " Has Marion refused to 
treat?"— "No, sir."— " Has Washington defeated sir Hen- 
ry Clinton V — " No, sir, not that neither ; but worse. I have 
seen an American general and his officers, without pay, and 
almost without clothes, dining on roots, and drinking water, 
and all these privations undergone for Liberty. What 
chance have we against such men !" 

Colonel Watson was little animated by this discovery , 
and the young officer was so affected by Marion's senti- 
ments, that he resigned his commission, and retired from 
the service. 

Having selected about a thousand of their best men, col- 
onel Campbell and his associate leaders mounted them on 
their fleetest horses ; and, on the 7th of October, attacked 
major Ferguson, a British officer who had collected a corps 
of royal militia, on the top of King's Mountain, near the 
confines of North and South Carolina. The Americans 
formed three parties. Colonel Cleveland addressed his 
division in the following unvarnished, but energetic lan- 
guage : " My brave fellows, we have beaten the tories* 
and we can again beat them. They are all cowards. If 
they had the spirit of men, they would join their fellow 
citizens, in supporting the independence of their country. 
When engaged, you are not to wait the word of command 



164 



HISTORY OF 



from me. I will show you, by my example, how to fight 
I can undertake no more. Every man must consider him- 
self as an officer; and act from his own judgment. Fire as 
quick as you can, and stand as long as you can. When you 
can do no better, get behind trees, or retreat. But I beg 
you will not run quite off. If we be repulsed, let us make 
a point to return, and renew the fight. Perhaps, we may 
have better luck in the second attempt, than in the first. If 
any be afraid, they have leave to retire ; and are requested 
immediately to take themselves off." 

Ferguson boldly met the assailants with fixed bayonets, 
and compelled them successively to retreat : but they fell 
back only a short distance ; and, concealed amongst trees 
and rocks, renewed the fire. The British being uncovered, 
were aimed at by the marksmen, and many of their party 
were slain. After a severe battle, major Ferguson, who had 
displayed the utmost bravery, received a mortal wound ; 
and as there was no prospect of successful resistance, or of 
escape, the contest was ended by his submission. Upwards 
of eight hundred became prisoners, and two hundred were 
killed and wounded. An unusual number of the killed were 
found shot in the head. Riflemen brought down each other 
so effectually, that their eyes remained, after they were dead, 
one shut and the other open ; in the ordinary manner of 
marksmen when leveling at their object. 

During the first three months which followed the defeat 
of the American army near Camden, general Gates wa3 
industriously preparing to take the field. Having collected 
a force at Hillsborough, he advanced to Salisbury, and, soon 
afterwards, to Charlotte, He had done every thing in his 
power to repair the injuries of his defeat, and was again in 
a condition to meet the enemy : but, from the influence, 
which, in a commonwealth, popular opinion has over public 
measures, congress resolved to supersede him, and order an 
inquiry into his conduct. 

In the northern states, the campaign was barren of im- 
portant events. The only movement, worthy of attention, 
was made by general Kniphausen, from New York ; intend- 
ed rather for devastation than conquest. From Elizabeth- 
town, in New Jersey, this officer proceeded, in June, to 
Connecticut farms : where, besides a number of dwelling 
houses he burned the Presbyterian church, and then con- 
tinued nis progress towards Springfield. As he advanced, 
he was annoyed by colonel Dayton, with a few militia, and 
by general Maxwell ; who, with some continental troops 



THE UNITED STATES. 



165 



was stationed at a bridge to dispute his passage. Here, 
the British made a halt ; and soon afterwards returned to 
Elizahethtown : but, being re-enforced, they advanced, a 
second time, towards Springfield. They were now oppos- 
ed by general Greene, with a considerable body of regulars 
from the head-quarters of the northern army at Morris- 
town. But superior numbers compelled the Americans to 
retreat. The British, instead of improving their advan- 
tage, began to burn the town of Springfield ; and, after 
destroying about fifty houses, again retired ; with the en- 
raged militia in their rear, until they reached Elizabeth- 
town. By such desultory operations, were hostilities, at 
this time, carried on, in the northern states. Individuals 
were killed, houses were burned, much injury was done, 
but nothing effected, tending either to reconcilement or 
subjugation. 

The distress suffered by the American army, did not ar- 
rive at its highest pitch until the present season. The of- 
ficers of the Jersey line, now addressed a memorial to their 
state legislature, complaining, that four months' pay of a 
private would not procure for his family a single bushel of 
wheat ; that the pay of a colonel would not purchase oats 
for his horse ; and that a common labourer received four 
times as much as an American officer. They urged, that 
unless an immediate remedy w T ere provided, the total dis 
solution of their line was inevitable ; and concluded; by 
saying, that their pay should be realized, either by Mexi- 
can dollars, or something equivalent. Nor was the msuffi 
ciency of their support the only motive to complaint. Other 
causes of discontent prevailed. The original idea of a 
continental army, to be raised, paid, and regulated, upon 
an equal and uniform principle, had been, in a great mea- 
sure, exchanged, for that of state establishments; a perni- 
cious measure, partly originating from necessity, because, 
state credit was not quite so much depreciated as conti- 
nental. Some states, from their superior ability, furnished 
their troops, not only with clothing, but with many articles 
of convenience. Others supplied them with mere neces- 
saries ; while a few, from their particular situation, could 
give little, or perhaps nothing. The officers and men, in 
the routine of duty, daily intermixed, and made compar 
isons. Those who fared worse than others, were dissatis- 
fied with a service that allowed such injurious distinctions. 
Mutiny began to spread, and at length broke out amongst 
the soldiers at fort Schuyler. Thirty-one privates of that 



166 



HISTORY OF 



garrison went off in a body. They were overtaken, and 
thirteen of their number instantly killed. About the same 
time, two regiments of Connecticut troops mutinied, and 
got under arms ; determined to return home, or gain sub- 
sistence by the bayonet. Their officers reasoned with them, 
and used every argument that could interest their passions 
or their pride. They at first answered, " Our sufferings 
are too great — we want present relief." But military feel- 
ings were, in the end, triumphant: after much expostula- 
tion, they returned to the encampment. 

It is natural to suppose, that the British commander 
would not lose so favourable an opportunity of severing the 
discontented from their companions, and attracting them 
to his ow T n standard. He circulated a printed paper in the 
American camp ; tending to heighten the disorder by ex- 
aggeration, and create desertion by promises of bounty and 
caresses. But, so great was the firmness of the soldiery, 
and so strong their attachment to their country, that, on 
the arrival of only a scanty supply of meat, for their imme- 
diate subsistence, military duty was cheerfully performed, 
and the rolls were seldom dishonoured by desertion. 

The necessities of the American army grew so pressing, 
that Washington was constrained to call on the magistrates 
of the adjacent counties for specified quantities of provis- 
ions, to be supplied in a given number of days ; and, was 
compelled even to send out detachments, to collect sub- 
sistence at the point of the bayonet. Even this expedient 
at length failed ; the country, in the vicinity of the army, 
being soon exhausted. His situation was painfully embar- 
rassing. The army looked to him for provisions ; the in- 
habitants, for protection. To supply the one, and not of- 
fend the other, seemed impossible. To preserve order and 
subordination, in an army of republicans, even when well 
fed, regularly paid, and comfortably clothed, is not an easy 
task ; but, to retain them in service, and subject them to 
the rules of discipline, when wanting, not only the com- 
forts, but often the necessaries, of life, require such address 
and abilities, as are rarely found in human nature. These 
were, however, combined in Washington. He not only 
kept his army in the field, but opposed those difficulties 
with so much discretion, as to command the approbation 
both of the soldiers and the people. 

To obviate these evils, congress sent a committee of its 
own members to the encampment of the main army. They 
confirmed the representations previously made, of the dis- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



167 



tresses, and the disorders arising from commissarial mis- 
management, which every where prevailed. In particular, 
they stated, that the army was unpaid for five months ; that 
it seldom had more than six days' provision in advance ; 
and was, on different occasions, for several successive days, 
without meat; that the horses were destitute of forage; that 
the medical department had no sugar, tea, chocolate, wine, 
nor spirituous liquors of any kind ; that every department 
was without money, and without credit ; and that the pa- 
tience of the soldiers, worn down by the pressure of com- 
plicated sufferings, was on the point of being exhausted. 

Misfortunes, from every quarter, were, at this time, pour- 
ing in upon the United States. But they seemed to rise 
in the midst of their distresses, and gain strength from the 
pressure of calamities. When congress could obtain neither 
money nor credit for the subsistence of their army, the in- 
habitants of Philadelphia gave three hundred thousand dol- 
lars, to procure a supply of necessary provisions for the 
suffering troops : and the ladies of that city, at the same 
time, contributed largely to their immediate relief. Their 
example was very generally followed. The patriotic flame, 
which blazed forth in the beginning of the war, was rekind- 
led. The different states were ardently excited; and it was 
arranged, that the regular army should be raised to thirty 
five thousand effective men. 

France, too, about the same time, determined to augment 
her co-operation. The marquis La Fayette had gone over, 
for a short time, to that country, and successfully urged 
the government to enlarge its aid. On the 10th of July, 
admiral de Ternay arrived at Rhode Island, with a squad- 
ron of seven sail of the line, five frigates, and five smaller 
armed vessels ; besides, a fleet of transports, having on 
board six thousand men, uncler the command of general 
count de Rochambeau. 

United both in interest and affection with the Amer- 
icans, the French troops eagerly desired an opportunity to 
act with them against the common enemy. Only a short 
time, however, was allowed for the indulgence of these sen- 
timents, before the French fleet and army were blocked up 
at Rhode Island, by admiral Arbuthnot, with ten sail of 
the line. Hopes were, nevertheless, indulged, that, by the 
arrival of another fleet, then in the West Indies, under the 
command of count de Guichen, the superiority would be so 
much in favour of the allies, as to enable them to prose- 



168 



HISTORY OF 



cute their original design of attacking New York. But, 
when the expectations of the Americans were raised to the 
highest pitch, intelligence arrived that de Guichen had 
sailed for France. This disappointment was extremely 
mortifying. Their pleasing anticipations were suddenly 
extinguished, and deeper shades were added to the heavy 
cloud, which, for some time past, had hung over their af- 
fairs. 

While the American cause was thus openly endangered 
by defeat and disappointment, it was secretly assailed by 
domestic treachery. A distinguished officer engaged, for a 
stipulated sum of money, to betray into the hands of the 
British an important post. The person who committed 
this foul crime, was general x4rnold, of Connecticut; a man 
who had been amongst the first to take up arms against 
Great Britain, and to widen the breach between the parent 
state and the colonies. His conspicuous military talents 
had procured him every honour that a grateful nation could 
bestow. Poets and painters had marked him as a rich sub- 
ject for their labours. His country had not only loaded him 
with honours, but forgiven him his peculations. Though, 
in his army accounts, there was much room to suspect im- 
position, yet the recollection of his gallantry and good con- 
duct in the field, had in a great measure, consigned them to 
oblivion. But the generosity of the states did not keep pace 
with his extravagance. A sumptuous table and expensive 
equipage, unsupported by the resources of private fortune, 
and unaided by economy, soon increased his debts, beyond 
a possibility of his discharging them. Oppression, extortion, 
and misapplication of the public money, furnished him with 
the means of gratifying his ruling passions : treachery and 
ingratitude afforded the only hope of evading a scrutiny, and 
replenishing his exhausted coffers. He solicited for the 
command of West Point, called the Gibraltar of America ; 
a post strengthened for the defence of the North River, 
and deemed the most proper for commanding its naviga- 
tion. Rocky ridges, shelving one above another, rendered 
it incapable of being invested by less than twenty thousand 
men. Some, even then, entertained doubts of Arnold's fi- 
delity. But Washington, in the unsuspecting spirit of a 
soldier, granted his request, and intrusted him with the im- 
portant barrier. Thus invested with the command, Arnold 
began a correspondence with sir Henry Clinton ; and agreed, 
that he wouid make a disposition of his forces, which 



THE UNITED STATES. 



169 



would enable the British general to surprise West Point ] 
under such circumstances, that the garrison must either 
lay down their arms, or be cut to pieces. The agent em- 
ployed by sir Henry Clinton, was major Andre, adjutant- 
general of the British army ; a young officer of great hopes 
and uncommon merit. His fidelity pointed him out for this 
negotiation ; but his candour made him inexpert in the ne- 
cessary arts of deception. When returning from a confer- 
ence with Arnold, devested of his uniform, he was inter- 
cepted on the 22d of September, near Tarrytown, by three 
faithful militia soldiers, John Paulding, Isaac Van Wert, 
and David Williams; and, by the laws of war, forfeited his 
life to a country struggling with an accumulation of disas- 
ters, and constrained to guard, by the most vigilant atten- 
tion, against the destructive agency of treason. 

The exchange of one of their best officers for the worst 
man in the American army, was the only effect of this 
grand project of the enemy. Arnold, who, on the capture 
of major Andre, had escaped, was immediately appointed 
a brigadier-general in the service of Great Britain. But, 
though his new companions had wished to profit by the 
treason, they viewed the traitor with contempt. " What 
treatment," inquired Arnold from a British officer, " am I 
to expect, should the rebels make me their prisoner?" — 
" They will cut off," replied the officer, " the leg that was 
wounded at Saratoga, and bury it, with all the honours of 
war ; but, having no respect for the rest of your body, they 
will hang it on a gibbet."* 

It is a subject of reproach to the United States, that 
they so much indulged a man of Arnold's character : but it 
is honourable to human nature, that a great revolution, con- 
tinued through an eight years' war, produced only one such 
example. His singular case, however, enforces the policy, 
indeed the moral obligation, of conferring high trust, ex- 
clusively, on men of unspotted reputation ; and of withhold- 
ing all confidential situations from those who are under the 
dominion of expensive pleasure. 

France was not the only nation that felt an interest in the 
colonial war. Spain did not suffer the favourable juncture 
to elapse, without attempting to regain at least a part of 
her former losses in the western hemisphere. The sum- 
mer in which Louis had declared his friendship for the 



* General Arnold died in London, in 1801. 

15 



170 



HISTORY OF 



United States, had scarcely commenced, when the Spanish 
monarch, on some general pretences, declared hostilities 
against Britain ; and directed his governor of Louisiana 
to invade her settlements in East and West Florida ; an 
enterprise attended with complete success. But he was 
not so fortunate in the designs of recovering Gibraltar and 
Jamaica* By the vigilance of admirals Rodney and Darby, 
general Elliot, having received a supply of provisions for 
the starving garrison of Gibraltar, was enabled, by extraor- 
dinary exertions, to frustrate the Spaniards, in their mem- 
orable siege of that great fortress; and the superior sea- 
manship of Rodney having caused the defeat and cap- 
ture of admiral De Grasse, in the West Indies, there no 
longer existed any fear for the safety of Jamaica. 

These abortive plans operated severely against the Unit- 
ed States ; especially the latter misfortune : which, as al- 
ready noticed, prevented the co-operation of count de 
Guichen with admiral de Ternay, when the latter was 
blocked up by the English, at Rhode Island. But this was, 
in a short time, counterbalanced, by the opposition made 
to Great Britain through the armed neutrality of the north- 
ern powers, and a rupture between that country and the 
Dutch. 

The naval superiority of England had, for ages, been to 
the other European states a subject of envy and regret. 
The imperious claim which she had long enforced, that the 
flags of all nations should pay obeisance to her ships of 
war, could not be otherwise than mortifying to independent 
sovereigns. This, however, was not their only subject of 
complaint. Various litigations had arisen, between the 
commanders of British armed vessels and those in the ser- 
vice of neutral countries, as to the extent of the commerce 
allowable during a strict and fair neutrality. The British 
insisted on capturing all supplies intended for their enemies. 
The empress of Russia opposed this innovation ; which, 
power, not right, had prompted them so injuriously to prac- 
tise. She addressed a manifesto to the courts of London, 
Versailles, and Madrid ; the three European belligerants : 
wherein she maintained, That neutral ships should enjoy a 
free navigation, even from port to port, of the nations at 
war, and on their coasts ; and that all articles belonging to 
the contending parties, should, when on board those vessels, 
Se free from capture ; excepting warlike stores, and goods 
destined for places actually blockaded or besieged. These 
principles were communicated by Catharine to the Dutch 



THE UNITED STATES. 



171 



republic, and to the sovereigns of Denmark, Sweden, and 
Portugal; from all of whom, except the latter, a concur- 
rence in opinion was received. Thus, the usurped authority 
of Great Britain was checked ; a restraint the more embar- 
rassing, as it emanated from a power in whose friendship 
she had confided. 

Holland, it appears, required not the stimulating hand 
of Russia, to array her against a nation, which, in the pre- 
ceding century, in violation of an ancient treaty, had sur- 
prised her colonies, and made extensive inroads on her com- 
merce. Few European states had a brighter prospect of 
advantage from American independence : none was more 
acute in discerning, none more ready in discovering, the 
means of promoting the profit of her merchants. Com- 
plaints had been made by the court of London, respecting 
the illicit commerce alleged to be carrying on between the 
Dutch at St. Eustatia and the Americans ; and succours 
were demanded by the British government, agreeably with a 
compact formed in the reign of Charles the Second, But the 
event which occasioned a declaration of war, was the capture 
of Mr. Laurens, when on his passage to Holland, in order to 
negotiate a loan and a treaty on the part of the United 
States. Papers being found with the American minister, 
confirming the British in their suspicions of the hostile in- 
tention of the Dutch republic, the English ambassador re- 
ceived instruction from his government to depart from the 
Hague ; and war against that country was soon afterwards 
published in London. The gathering storm of British ven- 
geance burst forth on St. Eustatia; an island of small 
value in itself, but highly important as the seat of an ex- 
tensive commerce. The wealth then concentrated in this 
barren spot, is almost incredible. The whole island seem- 
ed one vast magazine: the store-houses were filled, the 
beach was covered, with valuable commodities. The amount 
of three millions sterling fell into the hands of the British 
captors; a booty still further increased by subsequent ar- 
rivals. Yet the public interest of Britain was deeply in- 
jured by the prize. While admiral Rodney and his officers 
were bewildered in the sales of confiscated property at St. 
Eustatia; and, especially, while his fleet was weakened 
by a large detachment, sent w T ith the produce of the sales 
to England ; the French were silently executing a scheme, 
which insured them a superiority on the American coast, 
and caused the total ruin of the British army in the United 
States. 



172 



HISTORY OF 



]*2Ql Some extraneous aid appeared essential to sup- 
port the patriots, amidst the numerous misfortunes 
which assailed them. At no period of the war, were their 
domestic affairs in a more deplorable situation. Famine, 
mutiny, amongst the Pennsylvania, and part of the New 
Jersey, troops ; as well as a total annihilation of public 
credit ; threatened the dissolution of the army, and a mel- 
ancholy termination of all their labours. The American 
general Clinton, in a letter to Washington, dated at Alba- 
ny, about the middle of April, says ; " There is not now, 
independent of Fort Schuyler, three days' provisions for the 
troops, in the whole department ; nor any prospect of pro- 
curing any. The recruits of the new levies I cannot re- 
ceive, because I have nothing to give them. The Cana- 
dian families, I have been obliged to deprive of their scanty 
pittance ; contrary to every principle of humanity. The 
quarter-master's department is wholly useless. The pub- 
lic armoury has been shut up for nearly three weeks : and 
a total suspension of every military operation has ensued." 

These events, however, were not unforeseen by the rulers 
of America. New resources were providentially opened^ 
and the war was carried on with the same vigour as before. 
A large amount of gold and silver was introduced, by a 
beneficial trade with the Spanish West India islands ; and 
the king of France lent the United States several millions 
of livres, besides pledging his security for a larger sum, bor- 
rowed for their use, in Holland. A regular system of finance 
also was adopted, under the direction of Robert Morris ; 
who made the different arrangements with great judgment 
and economy. The Bank of North America, at Philadel- 
phia, the oldest monied institution in the United States, this 
year established by a charter from congress, was eminently 
useful in furnishing it with the sinews of war. The issuing 
of paper money under the authority of government was 
discontinued, and the public engagements were made paya- 
ble in coin. The old continental money ceased to have cur- 
rency. Two hundred millions of paper dollars were made 
redeemable by five millions of silver ; a measure submitted 
to without any tumults. Public faith was indeed violated : 
but the money, having, in a great measure, gone out of the 
hands of those who had received it at the original value, it 
was in the possession of others, who had obtained it at the 
rate not exceeding what was fixed by the scale of deprecia- 
tion ; and the redemption of the bills at their nominal value, 
instead of remedying the distresses of the sufferers, would* 



THE UNITED STATES. 



173 



it /as thought, in many cases have increased them ; by sub- 
jecting their property to a taxation of greater amount than 
that 01 the paper which had finally rested in their hands. 

The British were, at this time, carrying on the most ex- 
tensive plan of operations attempted since the beginning of 
the war. Hostilities raged, not only in the vicinity of their 
head-quarters at New York, but in Georgia, South Carolina, 
North Carolina, and Virginia. The industry with which the 
perfidious Arnold lent his aid, under his new commission, 
was calculated to impress the idea of a sincere devotion to 
the British cause. His extensive ravages, together with his 
plundering achievements, in Virginia and Connecticut, made 
it difficult to judge, whether his recent warfare, in the cha- 
racter of incendiary and robber, did not more than compen- 
sate the enemy for the damage before sustained from the 
arms of his heroic countrymen, led by himself to successive 
victories, through a desire of fame. 

The good fortune which attended the British troops, 
since they had reduced Savannah and Charleston, encour- 
aged them to pursue their object, by advancing from the 
latter to North Carolina. To relieve the southern states, 
though congress were unable to forward either men or 
money, yet they did what was equivalent. They sent them 
a general, whose military talents were equal to a numerous 
army. The nomination to this important trust was left to 
the commander-in-chief. He advised the appointment of 
general Greene, as an officer in whose abilities, fortitude, 
and integrity, from a long and intimate acquaintance, he 
had the most entire confidence. 

The same day on which general Greene took charge of 
the army at Charlotteville, he received information of a 
gallant enterprise by colonel (late captain) Washington. 
Being on a foraging excursion, this active officer had pene- 
trated within thirteen miles of Camden, to Clermont ; the 
seat of colonel Rugely, of the British militia. This was 
fortified by a block-house, encompassed by an abattis, and 
defended by one hundred inhabitants who had submitted 
to the royal government. Colonel Washington advanced 
before it, mounted the trunk of a pine tree on wagon- 
wheels, so as to resemble a field-piece, and peremptorily 
demanded a surrender. The stratagem had the desired ef- 
fect. Dreading a cannonade, the garrison instantly obeyed 
the summons, without a shot having been fired on either 
side. 

The whole southern army now consisted of about two 
1§* 



174 



HISTORY OF 



thousand men ; more than half of whom were militia, in a 
very relaxed state of discipline. Having divided his force, 
the commander sent general Morgan with a detachment 
into the district of Ninety-six, in the western extremity of 
South Carolina ; while he himself marched with the main 
body to Hick's creek, on the north side of the Pedee, op* 
posite to Cheraw Hill. Morgan was not long without em- 
ployment. Lord Cornwallis, being at this time far advanced 
in preparations for invading North Carolina, could not, 
agreeably with the policy of war, leave an enemy in his 
rear ; and therefore sent against him colonel Tarleton, at the 
head of about eleven hundred men. Tarleton had two 
field-pieces, a superiority of infantry, in the proportion of 
five to four, and of cavalry, in the proportion of three to 
one. With these advantages, he attacked general Morgan 
at the Cowpens, in South Carolina, on the 17th of January; 
with the expectation of driving him out of the state. But 
the impetuosity of Tarleton^ which had gained him high 
reputation, when he .had surprised an incautious enemy, or 
attacked a panic-struck militia,, was at this time the occasion 
of his ruin. Impatient of delay, he engaged with fatigued 
troops, led them into action before they were properly form- 
ed, or the reserve had taken its ground ; and,, after one of 
the severest conflicts witnessed in the course of the whole 
war, was defeated, with the loss of three hundred men kill- 
ed and wounded ; besides five hundred prisoners, his artille- 
ry, and baggage. The Americans had only twelve killed 
and sixty wounded. General Morgan was ably supported 
by colonels Washington, Howard, and Pickens ; who, as 
well as their commander, were honoured by congress with 
distinguished testimonies of their good conduct in this ar- 
duous engagement. 

Tarleton could not bear to, hear his enemy praised. 
When some ladies in Charleston were eulogizing colonel 
Washington, he replied, with a scornful air ; " I would be 
very glad to get a sight of colonel Washington : I have 
heard much talk of him, but have never yet seen him."— 
" Had you looked behind you, at the battle of the Cowpens," 
rejoined one of the ladies, " you might easily have enjoyed 
that pleasure." 

The defeat of Tarleton, his favourite officer, surprised 
and mortified, but did not discourage, lord Cornwallis. By 
vigorous exertion, he hoped soon to repair the late disaster ; 
and, accordingly, commenced a pursuit of general Morgan ; 
who had moved off towards Virginia- with his prisoners. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



175 



Greene immediately left his main army under the command 
of general Huger, and, escorted by a few dragoons, rode a 
hundred and fifty miles through the country, to join the de- 
tachment under Morgan ; that he might be in front of lord 
Cornwallis, and superintend the movements of both divis- 
ions. As Cornwallis was gaining ground upon him, the 
American commander ordered the prisoners to Charlotte- 
ville, and the troops to Guilford Court-house ; whither, he 
had directed Huger to proceed with the main army. The 
British general at length destroyed nearly all his baggage ; 
and thus, relieved from the burthen of every appendage not 
essential for immediate subsistence, urged the pursuit, with 
so much rapidity, that he reached the Catawba the evening 
of the same day on which his flying adversary had crossed 
it. Before the next day, a heavy fall of rain made the river 
impassable ; an event, which, in a signal manner, favoured 
the Americans : had it taken place only a few hours earlier, 
general Morgan, with his whole detachment, and five hun- 
dred prisoners, would have had scarcely any chance of 
escaping. Still, the ardour of the British was unabated. 
When the freshet had, in some degree, subsided, they 
marched through the river, which was upwards of five hun- 
dred yards wide, and three feet deep ; sustaining a constant 
fire from the militia on the opposite bank, without return- 
ing a single shot until they had effected their passage. As 
soon as they reached the shore, the Americans dispersed. 
The latter continued to fly, and the former to pursue. But 
the swelling of the river Yadkin again offered a barrier to 
obstruct the British army : a second interposition of the 
floods ; which, being considered, by many, as the immedi- 
ate hand of Providence, gave fresh vigour to their exertions 
in favour of independence. 

In the meantime, the two divisions of the American army 
had formed a junction, at Guilford Court-house ; but their 
number was so much inferior to the British, that general 
Greene could not, with any propriety, risk an action. He 
therefore held a council of officers ; who unanimously con- 
curred in opinion, that he ought to retire over the Dan, and 
avoid a battle, until re-enforced. Lord Cornwallis had yet 
hopes of intercepting the Americans, before they reached 
Virginia. But in this expectation he was deceived. The 
rapidity of one general was evaded by a corresponding cp 
lerity in the other. On the 14th of February, the American 
light troops having retired on that day upwards of forty 



176 



HISTORY OF 



miles, general Greene crossed the river Dan into that pro- 
vince, with his entire army, artillery, and baggage. 

He did not allow his men to remain long inactive. Being 
informed that many of the inhabitants of North Carolina 
were preparing to submit to the British general, he shortly 
afterwards re-crossed the river ; accompanied by a brigade 
of Virginia militia ; for the purpose of keeping alive the 
courage of his party. Some of his light troops, command- 
ed by colonel (late major) Lee, fell in with three hundred 
and fifty of the royalists, on their way to join the British 
standard at Hillsborough, and, mistaking the Americans 
for a royal detachment sent to their support, were cut down, 
as they were crying out " God save the king !" and making 
protestations of their loyalty. That was not the only mis- 
fortune of a similar kind, which attended these unnatural 
attempts at co-operation. Colonel Tarleton put to the 
sword several parties of the same description, in their ad- 
vance to the British quarters ; mistaking them for the patri- 
otic militia of the country : events which overset all the 
schemes of lord Cornwallis, and entirely stopped the re- 
cruiting service in behalf of the royal army. 

While general Greene was unequal even to defensive 
operations, he lay, for seven days, within a few miles of the 
British camp : but took a new position every night ; by 
which frequency of movement, lord Cornwallis could not 
gain intelligence of his situation, in time to attack him with 
proper advantage. He manoeuvred in this manner for three 
weeks ; during which time, he was often obliged to ask 
bread from the common soldiers, having no provisions of 
his own. At the end of that period, a re-enforcement ar- 
rived. This gave him a superiority of numbers, and de- 
termined him no longer to avoid a battle. An action took 
place, on the 15th of March, at Guilford Court-house. The 
American army consisted of four thousand four hundred 
men, drawn up in three lines ; of whom, more than half 
were militia ; the British, of twenty-four hundred ; chiefly 
troops inured to victory. After a brisk cannonade in front, 
the British advanced in three columns, and attacked the 
first line, composed of North Carolina militia. It gave 
way, before the enemy were within a hundred yards. This 
was owing to the misconduct of a colonel ; who called out 
to an officer at some distance, that he would be surrounded. 
The militia were obliged to quit the field. The regulars 
maintained the conflict with great spirit for an hour and a 
half but the discipline of the British soldiers finally pre 



THE UNITED STATES. 177 



vailed. A retreat was therefore directed ; and general 
Greene, about four hundred of his men having been killed 
or wounded, retired in good order to Speedwell's iron- 
works, ten miles from the field of battle. This was a dear- 
ly purchased victory. Lord Cornwallis lost the service of 
a third of his army, by death or wounds, and was in no con- 
dition to improve his advantage. 

One day, in the middle of winter, general Greene, when 
passing a sentinel who was barefooted, said : " I fear, my 
good fellow, you suffer much from the severe cold." — " Yes, 
very much," was the reply, " but I do not complain. I 
know I should fare better, had our general the means of 
getting supplies. They say, however, that, in a few days, 
we shall have a fight ; and then, I shall take care to secure 
a pair of shoes." 

In the same campaign, Dr. Faysough, when joining 
Greene's army, called at the hut of general Huger, and was 
refused admission. The doctor insisted on his right to en- 
ter : the sentinel repeated his refusal. But Huger, recogniz- 
ing the voice of his friend, ordered that he should be allow- 
ed to pass. " Pardon me, sir," said the general, who lay 
on the ground, wrapped up in an old military cloak, " for 
this ungracious reception. The fate of war has robbed me 
of every comfort, and I confined myself to solitude and an 
old cloak, while my washerwoman is preparing the only 
shirt I own." 

During those distressing occurrences, the whig inhabit- 
ants of South Carolina were animated by the gallant exer 
tions of Sumpter and Marion ; the former, in the western 
extremity, ably supported by colonels Neil, Lacey, Hill, 
Bratton, Winn, and Brandon ; the latter, in the north-east- 
ern; aided by colonels Peter and Hugh Horry, colonels Bax- 
ter and Postell, with majors Postell and James. 

An aifair in which major Postell was concerned, may 
serve to show the spirit of the times, and, especially, the 
indifference for property which then prevailed. A captain 
of the royal army, with twenty-five grenadiers, having taken 
post in the house of PostelPs father, the major placed his 
small army of twenty-one militia, so as to command its 
doors, and then called on them to surrender. This being 
refused, he set fire to an out-house ; was proceeding to burp 
the dwelling in which they were posted ; and nothing but 
their immediate submission restrained him from sacrificing 
his father's valuable establishment for the interest of hi? 
country. 



178 



HISTORY OF 



Another event is still more worthy of admiration ; as pro- 
ceeding from the patriotic feeling of the female sex, who 
are less enabled to recover, by future industry, from the 
devastations of civil war. The British having built some 
works around Mrs. Motte's dwelling, situated above the 
fork, on the south side of the Congaree, she aided the 
Americans in burning her own house ; and was thus the 
means of compelling the garrison of nearly two hundred 
men to surrender at discretion. The manner of accom- 
plishing this was singular. Opposite to the hill on which 
this lady's mansion stood, was another elevation, where she 
resided in the old farm-house. On this height, colonel Lee 
was posted, while general Marion occupied the eastern de- 
clivity of the ridge on which the fort stood. Lee having 
imparted to Mrs. Motte his design of burning her mansion 
by means of combustible matter conveyed by arrows, this 
magnanimous woman cheerfully presented him with a bow 
and its apparatus imported from India. The first arrow 
struck, and kindled a flame : a second and a third were 
equally successful, and very soon the entire roof was in a 
blaze. 

The escape of one of the prisoners taken at Mrs. Motte's 
house, was attended with a remarkable incident. Amongst 
the tories, was a person named Smith ; who, greatly dread- 
ing the resentment of his countrymen, prevailed on a sickly 
man, to whom he was hand-cuffed, to join him in eluding 
the guard. They had not travelled far into the woods, be- 
fore his yoke-fellow, quite exhausted by fatigue, declared he 
could go no farther, and fell insensible, in a swoon. Con- 
fined by the hand-cuffs, Smith was compelled to lie by him 
two days and as many nights, without meat or drink; his 
comrade being frequently in convulsions. On the third day, 
he died. Smith could remain no longer : with his knife, he 
separated himself from the dead man, by cutting off hi3 
arm at the elbow, which he bore with him to the royal gar- 
rison at Charleston. 

An American soldier, flying from a party of the enemy, 
sought the protection of Mrs. Richard Shubrick. His pur- 
suers pressing closely after him, insisted that he should be 
delivered up, and, in case of refusal, threatened immediate 
destruction to her house. But, this intrepid female placed 
herself before the chamber into which the unfortunate fugi- 
tive had been conducted, and resolutely said; "To men of 
honour, the chamber of a lady should be sacred. I will de- 
fend it, though I perish. You may succeed and enter it ; 



THE UNITED STATES. 179 



but it shall be over my corpse." — The officer was, for a 
moment, speechless. " If muskets," he exclaimed, " were 
placed in the hands of a few such women, our only safety 
would be in retreat. Your heroism, Madam, protects you ; 
I relinquish the pursuit." 

So much, indeed, were the ladies of the south habituated 
to injuries, and so warmly were they interested in the con- 
test, that misfortunes were a cause rather of jocularity, 
than regret. Mrs. Sabina Elliott having witnessed the ac- 
tivity of an officer who had ordered the plundering of her 
poultry-house, and finding an old Muscovy drake which had 
escaped the general search, had it caught, ordered a ser- 
vant to follow, on horseback, and deliver the fowl to the of- 
ficer ; with her compliments, that she concluded, in the 
hurry of departure, it had been left behind, altogether by 
mistake. 

An anecdote is related of Mrs. Charles Elliott. A Brit- 
ish officer, noted for inhumanity and oppression, meeting 
this lady in a garden adorned with a great variety of flowers, 
asked the name of the chamomile, which seemed to flour- 
ish with remarkable luxuriance. " That is the rebel flow- 
er," she replied. — " The rebel flower !" rejoined the officer, 
" Why did it receive that name ?" — " Because," answered 
the lady, " it thrives most, when most trampled on." 

Volumes would not record all the heroism of the Amer- 
ican females. Shortly after the commencement of the war, 
the family of Dr. Channing, then residing in England, re- 
moved to France, and sailed thence in a well-armed vessel 
for America. They had proceeded only a short way, when 
they were attacked by a privateer. A fierce engagement 
ensued ; during which, Mrs. Channing staid on deck, hand- 
ing cartridges, dressing the wounded, and exhorting the 
crew to resist till death. The colours of her vessel, were, 
however, struck ; when, seizing the pistols and side-arms 
of her husband, she threw them into the sea; declaring, 
that she would rather die, than see them surrendered to the 
English. 

The boys also were courageous, and wielded the arms ot 
war at a very tender age. At the battle of Ramsour's Mill, 
when captain Falls received a mortal wound, and fell, his 
son, a youth of fourteen, rushed to the body, when the man, 
who had shot him, was beginning to plunder it ; and, re- 
gardless of his opponent's strength, snatched up his father's 
sword, and laid him dead at his parent's feet. 

The movements of lord Cornwallis after the buttle of 



ISO 



HISTORY OF 



Guilford, indicated rather a defeat, than a victory. Leaving 
his sick and wounded with the neighbouring loyalists, he 
began a march towards Wilmington ; which had all the 
appearance of a retreat. The Americans followed, until 
they arrived at Ramsey's mill, on Deep river. Cornwallis 
refreshed his army for about three weeks, and then moved 
to Petersburg, in Virginia. Even before it was known 
that the British commander had determined on this step, 
general Greene had formed the bold resolution of returning 
to South Carolina. Here, the British had erected a chain 
of forts, from the capital to the extreme districts of the state ; 
which had regular communication with each other. The 
first object of Greene's attack, was Camden ; a village gar- 
risoned by lord Rawdon, with nine hundred men. But, as 
his force consisted only of about an equal number of con- 
tinentals, with a few hundred militia, he was unequal to the 
task of carrying the place by storm, or of completely in- 
vesting it ; and therefore chose a good position, about a 
mile distant, in expectation of alluring the garrison from 
their lines. Lord Rawdon indulged him in his desire. 
With great spirit, he sallied out, on the 25th of April, and 
defeated his antagonist, at Hobkirk Hill ; after which, he 
returned to Camden ; while the Americans, having retreated 
in good order, encamped about five miles beyond their for 
mer position. 

Soon afterwards, lord Rawdon, finding that his commu- 
nication with the capital was cut off, burned a considerable 
portion of the town, and retired to the southward of the 
Santee. The British lost six posts in rapid succession, and 
abandoned all the north-eastern extremities of the state. 
But the bright prospect, now opening to the American ar- 
my, was, in a short time, obscured, by a heavy gloom. 
W T hen nearly masters of the whole country, they experi- 
enced many severe repulses, particularly at Ninety-six, 
(afterwards named Cambridge,) and were compelled to re- 
treat to its utmost boundary. Greene was advised to re- 
tire, with his remaining force, to Virginia. To this sug- 
gestion, he replied, " I will recover South Carolina, or die 
in the attempt." He adopted the only expedient now left 
him ; that of avoiding an engagement, until the British 
force should be divided. His determination was rewarded 
with most signal success. After a series of manoeuvres, 
which deranged the entire plan of the British operations, 
on the eighth of September, he attacked their main body, 
encamped, under the command of colonel Stuart, at Eutaw 



THE UNITED STATES. 



181 



Springs, and overthrew them, with a loss, on their side, of 
eleven hundred men, including prisoners and wounded. 

When Marion's brigade was engaged in this battle, cap- 
tain Gee was supposed to be mortally wounded. A ball 
passed through the cock of his hat, very much tearing, not 
only the crown, but also his head. He lay, for many hours, 
insensible ; but, suddenly reviving, his first inquiry was after 
his hat : which being brought to him, a friend at the same 
time lamenting the mangled state of his head, he exclaimed : 
" Oh, I care nothing about my head : time and the doctors 
will mend that ; but it grieves me to think that the rascals 
have ruined my new hat for ever." 

In the close of the year, Greene moved down into the 
lower country ; and, about the same time, the British, aban- 
doning their out-posts, retired, with their whole force, 
to Charleston Neck. The holding of the interior was re- 
linquished : the conquerors, who had lately carried their 
arms to the extremities of the state, now seldom aimed at 
any thing more than to secure themselves in the vicinity of 
the capital. 

The battle of Eutaw may be considered as ending the war 
in South Carolina : a few excursions were afterwards made 
by the British ; but nothing of more general consequence 
than the loss of property and of individual lives. 

When last we spoke of lord Cornwallis, he was march- 
ing towards Petersburg. Various plans of operation had 
occurred to him : whether he should return to South Caro- 
lina by sea; follow general Greene directly through the 
barren country ; or, leaving that province to the care of 
lord Rawdo'n, persevere in his design against Virginia. 
The last object was, after much deliberation, embraced ; 
judging that the possession of this state would, at any time, 
insure the obedience of South Carolina. In less than a 
month, he reached Petersburg ; where he was joined by a 
numerous detachment, under general Philips : but, in pro- 
ceeding on his march, he was closely observed, and occa- 
sionally impeded, by the Marquis La Fayette ; who, with 
a few thousand troops, was intrusted with the principal com 
mand in Virginia. At Williamsburg, the rear of the Brit- 
ish army, being attacked by colonel Butler, sustained con- 
siderable loss ; and was afterwards much harassed by the 
manoeuvring of general Wayne. Finally, lord Cornwallis, in 
conformity with the instructions of sir Henry Clinton, but 
much against his own judgment, took a station at York« 
16 



182 



HISTORY OF 



town, as the most desirable for a strong, permanent place 
of arms, both for the army and navy. 

Expecting a re-enforcement from the West Indies, the 
British naval officers conceived that important operations 
would shortly be commenced in Virginia. But, while 
they were indulging these hopes, the count De Grasse, with 
a French fleet of twenty-eight sail, entered the Chesa 
peake ; and, about the same time, intelligence arrived, that 
the combined armies, which had been stationed in the more 
northern states, w T ere approaching. Before the British had 
fully contemplated the danger of their situation, De Grasse 
blocked up York River with three large ships and some 
frigates, and moored the principal part of his fleet in Lyn- 
haven Bay. Three thousand French troops, commanded by 
the marquis De St. Simon, were disembarked ; which, hav- 
ing formed a junction with the continental troops under La 
Fayette, the whole took post at Williamsburg. An at- 
tack on this force was designed : but, in consequence of 
promised re-enforcements, lord Cornwallis thought it more 
consistent with military prudence to defer his original in- 
tention : and, as his instructions to hold his ground were 
considered positive, he used, at this period, no endeavour 
to abandon his station, though becoming, every day, more 
dangerous. 

Admiral Greaves, with twenty sail of the line, made an 
effort for the relief of Cornwallis ; but without effecting 
his purpose. On the 5th of September, when he appeared 
off the capes of Virginia, count De Grasse went out to 
meet him, and an indecisive engagement took place. The 
British were willing to renew the action ; but De Grasse, 
for good reasons, declined the challenge. His chief design 
was to cover a French fleet, of eight line of battle ships, 
expected from Rhode Island ; an object which he accom- 
plished : for, while he was manoeuvring with admiral 
Greaves, they passed the latter in the night, and got with- 
in the capes. This gave the French a decided superiority : 
Greaves soon departed, and De Grasse re-entered the Ches- 
apeake. 

Before sir Henry Clinton was informed of that engage- 
ment, his solicitude had urged him to send a gallant offi- 
cer, with a letter to lord Cornwallis. This hazardous duty 
was performed by major Cochrane. The British admiral 
had left the Virginia waters before his arrival : yet at every 
peril, he ran through the whole French fleet, in an open 



THE UNITED STATES. 



183 



boat, landed safely, and delivered his despatches ; but im- 
mediately, his head was shot off by a cannon ball. 

The loss ultimately sustained by the British, in the cap- 
ture of St. Eustatia, was now apparent. Weakened by the 
absence of a squadron sent to England with the wealth ac- 
quired in that island, their fleet was rendered inferior to 
the French ; and thus, although individuals were enriched, 
the interest of the nation severely suffered. 

Meanwhile, in accordance with the well-digested plan 
of the campaign, the French and American forces were 
marching through the middle states, on their way to York- 
town. 

New York had been fixed as the grand object of assault ; 
but subsequent events had rendered an attack on York town 
more desirable. A show of prosecuting the original de- 
sign, was, nevertheless, continued. A letter from general 
Washington, detailing the particulars of the first intended 
operations, had been intercepted by sir Henry Clinton ; so 
that this officer bent his whole force to the strengthening 
of that post : and, believing that every movement, towards 
Virginia was a feint, he suffered the allied forces to pass 
him unmolested. 

Washington and Rochambeau reached Williamsburg on 
the 14th of September; and, with a few confidential officers, 
visited the count De Grasse on board his ship, and decided 
the arrangements. On the 25th, the combined forces, un- 
der the care of general Nelson, arrived there ; and, in a few 
days afterwards, general Washington moved down with the 
whole towards Yorktown. 

The works erected for its security, on the right, were re- 
doubts and batteries, with a line of stockade in the rear. 
A marshy ravine lay in front of the right ; over which, was 
placed a large redoubt. A morass extended along the cen- 
tre, guarded by a line of stockade and batteries. On the 
left of the centre, was a horn-work, with a ditch, a row of 
frise, and an abattis. Two redoubts were advanced before 
the left. The combined forces took possession of an out- 
ward position, from which the British had retired. About 
this time, the latter detached some cavalry to Gloucester ; 
which, general De Choisy so fully invested, as to cut off 
all communication between it and the country. In the 
meantime, the royal army were exerting every nerve to 
complete their half-finished works, and impede, by their 
artillery, the operations of the combined army. On the 
9th of October, the latter opened their batteries, and kept 



184 HISTORY OF 

up a well-directed fire, from heavy cannon, mortars, and 
howitzers. The shells of the besiegers reached the vessels 
in the harbour. 

On the 10th, another messenger arrived, with a despatch 
from sir Henry Clinton to lord Cornwallis, which stated 
various circumstances, tending to lessen the probability of 
relief, by a direct movement from New York. 

The besiegers commenced their second parallel, two 
hundred yards from the British works ; but, two redoubts, 
advanced on the left of these, greatly impeded the progress 
of the combined army. It was, therefore, proposed to en- 
ter them by storm. To excite a spirit of emulation, the 
reduction of one was committed to the French ; of the 
other, to the Americans. The latter, led by colonels Ham- 
ilton and Laurens, marched to the assault with unloaded 
muskets ; and, having passed the abattis and palisades, over- 
came the redoubt in a few minutes, with inconsiderable 
loss. Eight of the British were killed, one hundred and 
twenty were captured, and a few escaped. The French 
were equally successful ; though at a greater expense of 
lives. They took the redoubt assigned to them with rapidi- 
ty ; but, being more numerously opposed, their loss amount- 
ed to nearly one hundred men. These works being, im- 
mediately afterwards, included in the second parallel, their 
occupation facilitated the subsequent approaches. 

The situation of the besieged was hourly growing more 
distressing. Their fate was hastening to a crisis. The 
assailants poured destruction upon them, from the very 
means which they had erected for defence ; wiiile continu- 
ed sallies to repel them, could not, with propriety, be risk- 
ed. One w r as projected, with four hundred men, command- 
ed by colonel Abercrombie. He proceeded so far as to 
force two redoubts, and spike eleven pieces of cannon ; but, 
though the officers and privates displayed great bravery in 
this enterprise, their success produced no essential advan- 
tage. The cannon were soon unspiked and rendered fit for 
service. 

By this time, the batteries of the besiegers were covered 
with nearly a hundred pieces of heavy ordnance ; and the 
works of the besieged were so much damaged, that they 
could scarcely show a single gun. Lord Cornwallis had 
no safety left, except in capitulation or escape. He deter- 
mined on the latter. Means were accordingly prepared, 
to carry the troops, in the night, to Gloucester Point ; 
but, after one party had crossed over, a violent storm dis- 



THE UNITED STATES. 185 



persed the boats, and frustrated the entire design. Thus 
weakened by separation, the royal army was exposed to in- 
creased danger ; and orders were sent to those who had 
passed, to return. Longer resistance would aggravate, 
without offering the remotest probability of averting, their 
misfortune. Lord Cornwallis, therefore, wrote a letter to 
general Washington, requesting a cessation of arms for 
twenty-four hours, and the appointment of commissioners 
to arrange the terms of a surrender. A capitulation was 
agreed on ; by which, the posts of York and Gloucester 
were entered by the combined forces, on the 19th of Octo- 
ber. The honour of marching out with colours flying, 
which had been refused to general Lincoln on his giving 
up Charleston, was now refused to Cornwallis : and Lincoln 
was appointed to receive the submission of the royal army, 
precisely in the same way in which sir Henry Clinton had 
received his own. 

The troops of every kind that surrendered, exceeded 
seven thousand ; but, so great was the number of sick and 
wounded, that there were not four thousand capable of 
bearing arms. The regular forces, employed in their re- 
duction, consisted of seven thousand French, and five thou- 
sand five hundred continentals with the addition of about 
four thousand militia. 

This may be considered as the closing scene of the re- 
volutionary war. The whole project was conceived with 
profound wisdom, and the incidents were combined with 
singular propriety. The French and American engineers 
and artillery merited the highest praise. Generals Du 
Portail and Knox, with colonel Gouvion, and captain Roche- 
fontaine, were promoted. Washington, Rochambeau, De 
Grasse, and all the officers and men under their command, 
were honoured with the thanks of congress. Unusual trans- 
ports of joy pervaded the whole people. It is asserted, 
that the nerves of some were so agitated, as to produce 
convulsions; and the aged door-keeper of congress, expir- 
ed from the violence of his feelings. General Washington 
ordered, that those who were under military arrests, should 
be pardoned, and that divine service should be performed 
in the different brigades of the army ; at which, he recom- 
mended the presence of all the troops not upon duty, to 
assist, with a serious deportment and grateful heart, in of- 
fering thanks to that Providence who had so remarkably 
extended his hand in their behalf. Moved by a similar 
feeling, congress resolved to go in procession to church, to 
16 * 



186 



HISTORY OF 



give public acknowledgment to Almighty God ; and issued 
a proclamation for religiously observing the 13th of De- 
cember following, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer. 

We cannot quit this interesting period of our history, 
without paying a tribute of respect to the admirable de- 
portment of the French army, since their first arrival in 
the United States. At Rhode Island, where they had spen 
the chief part of their time, they conducted themselve 
towards the inhabitants as brothers. In their march to York 
town, five, hundred miles of their journey lay through a 
country abounding in fruit, and at a time when the most 
delicious productions of nature, growing on and near the 
high-ways, presented both opportunity and temptation to 
gratify their appetites, rendered eager by the effects of a 
parching sun ; yet, in this long route, amongst a people of 
different principles, customs, language, and religion, so 
complete was their discipline, that scarcely an instance 
could be produced of a peach or an apple being taken, with- 
out the consent of the inhabitants. 

A happy reward of all their labours, a full compensation 
for the streams of blood so generously shed by the Ameri- 
can patriots, were now almost obtained. The year ter- 
minated in every part of the United States, in favour of the 
cause of freedom. It began with weakness, mutiny, and 
devastation, and ended in confidence, victory, and joy. 

General Washington, w T ith the greater part of his forces, 
returned, after the completion of this conquest, to the state 
of New York. An obstruction of the intercourse between 
the town and country, w r as all that he at this period attempt- 
ed ; and the British, on their part, were contented to remain 
within their lines. In Carolina, the same conduct was 
mutually observed. But, in one of the desultory skirmishes 
which occurred in the neighbourhood of Charleston, the 
Americans had to deplore the loss of the amiable and in- 
trepid colonel Laurens. In Georgia, the war ended with a 
severe, though indecisive, engagement, near Savannah ; in 
which, the royal troops, aided by a large number of Creek 
Indians, were opposed by an American detachment under 
general Wayne. The English government, having deter- 
mined to relinquish, at least for the present, an offensive 
warfare in the United States, withdrew their forces from 
this, and the adjoining province of South Carolina. 

It was happy for all the contending parties, that the na- 
tional pride of Britain did not interfere, to prevent what 
was so forcibly urged by policy. Humbled by the defeat 



THE UNITED STATES. 



187 



at Yorklown, it required the splendid victories gained by 
her navy in the West Indies, and her army at Gibraltar, to 
reconcile her to the independence of the revolted colonies ; 
for, England never admits that she is vanquished. France, 
as well as Spain, saw no prospect of success. Disappointed 
in their immediate views, both, it may easily be conceived, 
would have sheathed the sword, and allowed the young re- 
public to struggle, unaided, for existence. Britain, wearied 
by a contest, in which one hundred millions sterling had 
been added to her debt, and the lives w T asted of fifty thousand 
of her subjects ; in which, defeat was doubly disgraceful, 
and victory without the consolation of renown, would glad- 
ly have desisted from offensive operations in the United 
States. But the Americans, firm to their stipulations, 
were determined not to remain inactive, and to conclude 
no arrangement w T hich did not comprise their European 
allies. 

In the British parliament, which met in December, short- 
ly after the capitulation at Yorktown became known in 
London, the decided language of the king's speech, point- 
ing to the continuance of the American war, was approved, 
or, at least, assented to, by a majority of both lords and 
commons. A few days afterwards, a motion was introduced 
in the lower house, declaring, That all farther attempts 
to reduce the Americans, to obedience, by force, would be 
ineffectual, and injurious to the best interests of Great 
Britain. This, however, was not carried ; though the de- 
bate on the subject was prolonged until two o'clock in the 
morning, and the friends of peace, amongst whom, Mr. 
Burke and Mr. Fox were particularly distinguished for 
their eloquence, had received additional strength. As the 
opposition party became every day more numerous, and the 
nation was now almost universally actuated by the same 
feelings, general Conway soon afterwards brought forward 
Yf§2 a s * m ^ ar resolution ; which, after much strenuous 
debating, was successful, by a respectable majority. 
A new administration was the necessary consequence of - 
this change in the public sentiment. Lord North's situa- 
tion was assigned to the marquis of Rockingham ; and, on 
the decease of the latter, the chief reins of government 
w r ere intrusted to the earl of Shelburne, assisted by Wil- 
liam Pitt, son of the celebrated lord Chatham. This no- 
bleman, whose memory is entitled to the highest degree of 
respect and gratitude, in the breast of every American, 
had been removed in the year 1778, by death, from Jie 



188 



HISTORY OF 



uneasy contemplation of those destructive measures which 
he had so ably combated, and which were now on the eve 
of being abandoned. 

To remove constitutional impediments, an act of parlia- 
ment was passed, giving the crown a power of negotiating 
with the revolted colonies ; an indispensable authority : as, 
by the terms on which the king holds the executive func- 
tions of the British empire, he cannot devest it of any of its 
ancient appendages. 

Commissioners on the part of Great Britain and her late 
colonies, entered on the important business of pacification, 
at Paris. The latter confided their interests to John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens ; the for- 
mer, to Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Oswald. Two of the first 
sovereigns of Europe, the empress of Russia and the em- 
peror of Germany, were mediators, in promoting the desi- 
rable agreement. Preliminary articles of peace were signed 
j^Qg on the 30th of November, 1782; and on the kd of 
September in the next year, they were ratified and 
inserted in a definitive treaty between Great Britain and 
France. The independence of the states was acknowledged. 
Very ample boundaries were allowed them ; comprehending 
the fertile and extensive countries on both sides of the 
Ohio, and on the east side of the Mississippi. They were 
also allowed the right of fishing on the banks of Newfound- 
land, and in all other waters hitherto visited for that pur- 
pose by both nations. The ministers of congress procured 
for their countrymen better terms than they had reason to 
expect; larger boundaries than the states, when colonies, 
had ever claimed : but the additional territories might, if 
retained by Great Britain, have occasioned another war. 

Peace was proclaimed in the American army, on the 
19th of April ; just eight years from the memorable day 
when the first blood was shed between the colonies and the 
parent state, in the fields of Lexington and Concord. 

In the midst of the pleasing reflections on the past, and 
anticipations of the future, the circumstances of the brave 
Americans who had spent the prime of their lives in com- 
bating even more than a human enemy could inflict, drew 
forth the commiseration of every generous breast. The 
states, which owed to them their political existence, were 
unable, at this period, to fulfil their stipulations with their 
troops ; and several were unwilling, through selfish motives, 
in join with congress in establishing a uniform rate of im- 



THE UNITED STATES. 189 



port duties, from which a fund might arise for doing jus- 
tice to them hereafter. Officers and privates were about 
to be dismissed, many of whom had not, for five years, re- 
ceived the smallest pecuniary compensation, to reward their 
dangers and fatigues, or cancel the debts contracted in 
their absence by their families. Consequences the most 
serious were apprehended. Anonymous letters (since as- 
certained to have been written by general Armstrong) were 
circulated, to inflame the minds of the unrequited forces, 
and induce them to insist on a redress of grievances, be- 
fore they parted with their arms. The dignified coolness 
of general Washington interposed to dispel the storm. He 
requested the general and field officers, and an officer from 
each company, to assemble at an early day; and, previous 
to the meeting, sent for one of them after another, and en- 
larged, in private, on the loss of character, to the whole 
army, which would result from intemperate resolutions. 
When they were afterwards convened, he addressed them 
in a speech, well calculated to soothe their minds ; pledging 
himself to exert all his influence in their favour, and ap- 
pealing to their honour, their humanity, and their regard 
to the military, as well as the national character of their 
rising country. He then retired. No reply whatever was 
attempted. Softened by the eloquence of their beloved 
commander, those who had entered the meeting irritated 
in the highest degree, by the contemplation of their wrongs 
and the extent of their sufferings, acquiesced in a reso- 
lution, " That no circumstances of distress, or danger, 
should induce a conduct that might tend to sully the repu- 
tation and glory they had acquired ; that the army continu- 
ed to have unshaken confidence in the justice of congress 
and their country ; and that they viewed with abhorrence, 
and rejected with disdain, the infamous proposition in the 
.late anonymous addresses." 

Soon afterwards, congress determined, that the officers 
who preferred an immediate sum to the half-pay for life 
before promised them, should be entitled to receive, in its 
place, the amount of five years' full pay, in money, or ia 
securities bearing interest. 

To avoid the inconvenience of dismissing a great num- 
ber of soldiers, in a body, furloughs were readily granted to 
individuals; without enjoining their return. Thus, a great 
part of an unpaid army was disbanded, and dispersed over 
the several states, without tumult or disorder. About 
eighty, however, of the Pennsylvania levies, formed an ex 



190 



HISTORY OF 



ceplion to the general disposition of the army. Having, in 
defiance of their officers, marched to Philadelphia, where 
they prevailed on some other troops to join them, the whole, 
amounting to upwards of three hundred, proceeded, with 
fixed bayonets, to the state-house, in which, congress and 
the executive council of Pennsylvania were assembled ; 
placed guards at the door, and sent in a written message to 
the president and council, threatening them with military 
vengeance, if their demands were not satisfied in less than 
twenty minutes. Dreading the fury of an enraged soldiery, 
congress, after a three hours' confinement, retired, and ap- 
pointed their next place of meeting at Princeton. Washing- 
ton again displayed his parental care. He immediately or- 
dered a strong detachment of his army to march to Phila- 
delphia. Several of the mutineers were tried, and condemn- 
ed to suffer death ; but they were all ultimately pardoned. 
Four months' pay was, afterwards, through the great ex- 
ertions of the superintendent of finance, given to the army ; 
a sum, which, although trifling, was all the recompense the 
states were at that time able to make. 

On the 25th of November, about three weeks after the 
American army was discharged, New York was evacuated 
by the British forces ; and Washington, accompanied by 
governor Clinton, made a public entry into that city, in 
grand procession. An interesting moment was approach- 
ing. The period arrived, when the commander-in-chief 
was to bid adieu to his officers ; men endeared to him by 
a long series of common sufferings and dangers, and by the 
successful issue of their exertions. The parting was solemn 
and affecting. Calling for a glass of wine, Washington 
thus addressed them : " With a heart full of love and grati- 
tude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that 
your latter days may be as prosperous and happy, as youi 
former have been glorious and honourable." The officers 
advanced to him successively ; he took an affectionate fare- 
well of each ; and then passed through a corps of light in- 
fantry to the place of embarkation. They followed in mute 
procession, with countenances expressive of their serious 
feelings. He entered the barge, turned to the companions 
of his glory, waved his hat, and bade them a silent adieu. 

His military cares being ended, Washington lent his fos- 
tering regard to the civil administration. Anxious that 
they should enjoy in tranquillity, what they had gained by so 
great an expenditure of lives, he addressed a circular letter 
to the governors of the different states ; in which, with all 



THE UNITED STATES. 



191 



the charms of his distinguished eloquence, he inculcated 
the necessity of justice, of subordination to the arrange- 
ments required by their new situation, and improvement in 
the original bond of political union. 

He next proceeded to Annapolis, then the seat of con- 
gress, to resign his commission. In every town and village 
through which he passed, he was met by demonstrations of 
gratitude and joy. The 23d of December, having been 
appointed for that interesting ceremony, general Washing, 
ton appeared before them ; when, addressing the president, 
" The great events on which my resignation depended," 
said he, " having at length taken place, I have now the 
honour of offering my sincere congratulations to congress, 
and of presenting myself before them, to surrender into 
their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the in- 
dulgence of retiring from the service of my country. Hap- 
py in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, 
and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States 
of becoming a respectable nation, I resign, with satisfaction, 
the appointment I accepted with diffidence ; a diffidence of 
my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task : which, how- 
ever, was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of 
our cause, in the support of the supreme power of the Union, 
and the patronage of Heaven. The successful termination 
of the war has verified the most sanguine expectations : my 
gratitude for the interposition of Providence, and the assist- 
ance I have received from my countrymen, increases with 
every review of the momentous contest. While I repeat 
my obligations to the army, in general, I should do injustice 
to my own feelings, not to acknowledge, in this place, the 
peculiar services, and distinguished merits, of those gentle- 
men who have been attached to my person during the war. 
It was impossible the choice of confidential officers, to com- 
pose my family, could have been more fortunate. Permit 
me, sir, to recommend, in particular, those who have con- 
tinued in the service to the present moment, as worthy of 
the favourable notice and patronage of congress. 

" I consider it as an indispensable duty to close this last 
solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests 
of our country to the protection of Almighty God, and 
those who have the superintendence of them to his holy 
keeping. 

" Having thus finished the work assigned me, I retire 
from the great theatre of action ; and, bidding an affectionate 
farewell to this august body, under whose orders I havo 



192 



HISTORY OF 



long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave 
of all the employments of public life." 

After an eloquent and affecting reply by the president, 
general Mifflin, Washington withdrew. He hastened, with 
exquisite delight, to Mount Vernon ; where he exchanged 
ihe anxious labours of the camp, for the pleasing industn 
of a farm ; the instruments of war, for those of husbandry ; 
and became the patron and example of ingenious and pro- 
fitable agriculture, as well as the successful promoter of 
inland navigation. 

Having thus followed the great military exertions of the 
American patriots to a happy termination, a short account 
of the legislative proceedings of the individual colonies may 
here be given with advantage. 

The important revolution, as regarded their dependence 
on Great Britain, required a corresponding alteration in 
their governments. This had been recommended by the 
general congress, at an early period of the war. Except 
in Rhode Island, which retained the charter granted by 
Charles the second, conventions were assembled ; which 
formed new constitutions, agreeably with the strictest prin- 
ciples of republicanism, retaining whatever was desirable 
in the original institutions, and providing every additional 
security against tyranny and corruption, that ingenuity or 
experience could dictate. In these, though, in some mat- 
ters there is an opposition of sentiment, yet, in the main 
objects, tending to allow to man his natural right of liberty 
and equality, the features have a striking resemblance. 
With a few exceptions, the mind is uncontrolled in its in- 
tercourse with God. There is no inconvenience, either 
civil or political, suffered by individuals who differ in reli- 
gious opinions from the predominant party in the state. All 
religions are equally protected ; and all citizens of good 
moral character, not denying the existence of one superin- 
tending Being, with a future state of rewards and pun- 
ishments, are, in most of the American communities, eligi- 
ble to the highest honours that the several republics can 
confer. 

The statute and common laws of England, formerly ob- 
served in the provincial courts of justice, remain in practice, 
as before, unless altered or annulled. The inestimable pri- 
vilege, of British derivation, a trial by jury ; the freedom of 
the press, with the additional right, in case of prosecuting 
r or a libel, of giving evidence as to the truth of the facts al- 
t eged in tne obnoxious publication, where the matter is a 



THE UNITED STATES. 



193 



proper subject of public interest ; are declared fundamental 
principles of the newly adopted constitutions : also, that debt- 
ors shall not be imprisoned, after delivering to their creditors 
a true schedule of all their property ; that capital punish- 
ments shall be inflicted only for enormous crimes ; and that 
no conviction in a court of justice shall cause the forfeiture 
of the criminal's estate, or any degree of injury to the rights 
of his descendants. No hereditary honours can be granted. 
No titles, except those which designate an office, are recog- 
nized by law. There is only one deviation from the latter 
essential mark of the republican spirit. Massachusetts has 
conferred the ephemeral title of " His Excellency" on the 
governor; and upon the lieutenant-governor, of the state, 
that of " His Honour." But, although these aristocratic 
customs are so generally denounced by the laws, they are 
eagerly followed by the people. They are universally 
usurped, and mutually allowed, by the members of the 
state and general governments, and as freely applied by 
their constituents. There are in the United States more 
nominal nobility, than any country in the world exhibits, of 
legitimate creation. Every governor is Excellent ; every 
judge, senator, and representative, is Honourable ; and every 
lawyer, and justice of the peace, distinguished by the chival- 
ric title of Esquire. These frivolities should be carefully 
discouraged, and the dangerous assumptions, by every real 
friend of liberty, opposed. They are the first robes in which 
a republic advances to aristocracy ; thence, to monarchy ; 
and, from monarchy, to oppression and extravagance. 

The governments resemble, in their principal organiza- 
tion, the frame of the new federal constitution. They con- 
sist of three branches; a governor, a senate, and a house 
of representatives. But, in nearly all the states, property 
is required to qualify the candidates for their situations ; 
and, in many, it is a requisite qualification in the elector. 
In New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania ; Dela- 
ware, South Carolina, and Georgia ; the greatest liberality, 
in that respect, prevails. In those states, every free citi- 
zen of twenty-one years of age, after residing a certain time 
within the respective commonwealths, and contributing his 
share of the public expenditure, (excluding, in some, the 
inhabitants of colour,) is allowed a vote. Massachusetts 
and Connecticut; New York, New Jersey, and Virginia; 
confine the elective right to citizens possessed of property. 
New Jersey formerly extended the right of voting to fie- 
males. Maryland allows no political liberty excepl to 
17 



194 



HISTORY OF 



Christians j North Carolina observes a similar jealousy of 
all but Protestants : and Christians are the only people en- 
titled to general protection by the constitutions of New 
Hampshire and Massachusetts. Senators are required to be 
more advanced in years than members of the lower house : 
they hold their stations for a longer period of time ; and, in 
some states, are not chosen directly by the people, but by 
the representative bodies, or by intermediate electors, ap- 
pointed by the former. In New York, and Maryland, North 
and South Carolina, and Georgia, clergy are not eligible as 
members of either branch of the legislature.* 

Compensation is allowed to members of the legislature, 
for their attendance at the seat of government ; a regula- 
tion similar to the ancient practice in England. That fre- 
quent recurrence may be had to the judgment of the peo- 
ple, the terms of representative service are short. Elec- 
tions, for the lower branch, are, in general, made yearly. 
The votes are, in some states, given by ballot ; in others, by 
open voice ; both modes having their advocates ; as it is dif- 
ficult to ascertain whether, in practice, the former method 
is entitled to a preference. 

The interruption suffered by foreign commerce, gave a 
lively stimulus to domestic ingenuity. To the revolution, 
the United States are indebted for the cultivation of sugar 
from the maple tree. Determined to use, so far as possi- 
ble, no productions except of their own growth or manufac- 
ture, the inhabitants tried every means of supplying their 
conveniences from their native stores ; and a farmer, at 
Bernardstown, in Massachusetts, in the early stage of the 
misunderstanding with the British parliament, succeeded 
in producing, from the northern forest, a species of sugar, 
little inferior to that usually manufactured from the cane. 

The department of literature' is the next subject that 
claims attention. Several years before the revolution, a 
type-foundry was commenced at Germantown, but em- 
ployed chiefly for the presses of its owner, Christopher 
Sower, who printed the Bible, and other works, in the Ger- 
man language ■ and, in 1769, Abel Buel of Killingsworth, 
in Connecticut, began the casting of types, on a small scale : 
but, tne first, who regularly pursued this business in the 
United States, was John Baine, of Edinburgh, who settled 
in Philadelphia, soon afte~ the termination of the war. 



* Those are the principal features of the original constitutions ; which, in 
teveral of the states, have subsequently undergone considerable alterations. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



195 



Some of the early settlers in Virginia were men of let ters : 
but, with the exception of their historians, Smith, Stith, 
Beverley, and Keith, they have left no writings of import- 
ance. Before the revolution, the only work of general in- 
terest published in the colonies, was the first volume of the 
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, insti- 
tuted in 1743, and held in Philadelphia. Men of science 
had promulgated their ordinary ideas in the newspapers, 
and their essays, of a higher character, through the medium 
of the Royal Society of London. Fourteen Americans, — 
four of the name of Winthrop, Paul Dudley, and president 
Leverett ; Thomas Brattle, Cotton Mather, doctors Frank- 
lin, Boylestone, Mitchell, Morgan, Rittenhouse, and Gar- 
den ; were members of that association. 

The families of Winthrop and Mather were distinguished 
amongst the first inhabitants of New England, for their 
virtues and general abilities. Of the latter, (not fewer than 
ten of whom exercised, at the same time, the clerical pro- 
fession,) Cotton Mather was the most conspicuous. He 
was one of the most voluminous writers of his day. His 
Magnalia, published in the beginning of the last century, is 
an extraordinary performance ; alike interesting, as con- 
taining the church history of New England, and curious, as 
displaying a puerile inconsistency with his liberal education, 
in his belief of witchcraft, and its whole train of antichris- 
tian absurdities. Dr. Boylestone, in the year 1720, intro- 
duced into Boston the practice of inoculation for the small- 
pox ; before which time, it was not used in any part of the 
American continent. 

The name of Franklin, which has frequently appeared in 
our political narrative ; a name inseparably associated with 
that of liberty; is not less illustrious in the annals of philos- 
ophy. Benjamin Franklin will be a lasting theme of admi- 
ration. Endued by nature with an originality of thought, 
uncommon accuracy of judgment, and deep penetration ; 
his mental faculties unclouded by intemperance ; his whole 
time devoted to industry ; his resources improved by a rigid 
system of economy ; he rose, from an humble station, to 
eminence in business, enjoyed the highest honours within 
his adopted province, and enriched the field of science with 
the sublimity of his researches. In developing the subtle 
nature of the electric fluid, he was unrivalled. Though his 
theory of " positive and negative electricity" has not been 
demonstrated to the entire satisfaction of philosophers, yet, 
no other has been imagined to supply its place ; nor have 



196 



HISTORY OF 



any experiments, in the smallest degree, shaken the proba- 
ble correctness of his system. But a discovery of a grand- 
er character was reserved for Dr. Franklin. To him, the 
world is indebted, for showing the electrical quality of 
lightning ; and, consequently, the means of preserving our 
dwellings and shipping from the destructive flash. No one 
should be unacquainted with the mental treasures contained 
in his various works. His biography and maxims, togeth- 
er with a sketch of his principal discoveries, should be in 
the hands of every youth; and the whole of his essays and 
transactions, studied with minute attention by the philoso- 
pher. Boston may justly be proud of being the birth-place 
of Dr. Franklin ; and Pennsylvania will gratefully remem- 
ber the services of her adopted citizen. Besides the foun- 
dation of the Philadelphia Library, in 1731, his country re- 
mains largely indebted to him for innumerable institutions, 
as well as for pecuniary bequests mentioned in his will.* 

The translation of Cicero's treatise on old age, made, in 
the year 1734, by Mr. Logan, of Pennsylvania, is highly de- 
serving the perusal of those who are advanced in years, and 
of young persons in their progress to maturity. Much 
comfort will be received from it by the aged, and much 
good advice by inconsiderate youth. It illustrates the ad- 
vantages of temperance, and of early mental improvement, 
by copious examples of men, who, long after the period 
usually allowed to human life, had served their country with 
distinction in the senate, enlightened mankind by their 
wisdom, or enjoyed the satisfaction of domestic retirement. 
The translator has furnished notes, containing a more ex- 
tended biography of the characters mentioned in the origi- 
nal ; thereby rendering the work more interesting to read- 
ers not extensively conversant with ancient history : and 
Franklin, by whom it was originally published, has confer- 
red an important obligation on those who are deficient in 
sight, by printing it with a type of unusually large size. In 
the preface, Dr. Franklin says, " this is the first translation 
made of any of the ancient classics, in the western world f 
an assertion, that is, we believe, erroneous: as, in 1623, 
more than a century before, it appears, that Mr. Sandys, 
treasurer of the Virginia Company, translated Ovid's Meta- 
morphoses, — the most ancient literary production of Amer- 
ica. 



* Dr. Franklin died in Philadelphia, in the year 1790, at the advanced 
«ige of eighty-four* 



THE UNITED STATES. 



197 



As a botanist, Dr. Clayton, of Virginia, holds an honoura- 
ble station, and Rittenhouse of Pennsylvania is equally dis- 
tinguished in astronomy. The former passed a long life in 
examining the plants of his native province. His Flora 
Virginica, published at Leyden in the year 1762, ranks him 
amongst the most industrious and useful enlargers of the 
botanical catalogue. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

NEW FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 

National Bank. Insurrection in Massachusetts, and in Penn* 
sylvania. Vermont. Kentucky. War with the Indians. 

By the treaty of peace, large territories, which had not 
been granted to individuals, were ceded to the United 
States. But these lands were included within the charter- 
ed limits of particular states, and were in actual posses- 
sion of the aborigines. Ample cessions were, however, 
made in favour of the general government, by the former ; 
and a large tract of country, situated to the north-west of the 
Ohio, was surrendered by the latter ; on condition of their 
enjoying the friendship of the United States, and a regular 
supply of merchandise. Having joined the British in the 
revolutionary contest, they were considered, by the laws of 
war, as a conquered people ; a principle which was men- 
tioned to their leaders, and upon which the terms of this' 
arrangement were, in a great measure, conducted. 

There yet remained for discussion, a subject of much 
higher importance. The general government was not es- 
tablished on a solid foundation. The articles of union, 
formed under the pressure of common danger, were found 
inadequate to the efficient management of the same country, 
in the selfish periods of peace and security. It was neces- 
sary that there should be a radical reform. The original 
compact required the concurrence of seven states to every 
act, and of nine, to several higher objects, of legislation. 
It frequently happened, that some of the states were not 
represented in the general congress ; or, perhaps, by only 
one member, or by an even number, equally divided in 
opinion ; cases, in which, their votes were of no effect 
17 * 



198 



HISTORY OF 



This bond of union was defective, not only in its powers, 
but in the means of executing them. Its acts required the 
interposition of the states composing it, to give them effect 
within their respective jurisdictions. The laws of con- 
gress, without the aid of state laws to enforce them, were 
nugatory ; and, thus, the government was paralyzed. No 
efficient fund being provided to pay the interest of the na- 
tional debt, the public securities of the United States fell 
to one-tenth of their nominal value. The soldier, who had 
received a certificate for the payment of his hard-earned 
dues, was often, from necessity, obliged to transfer his right 
for an insignificant consideration. The monied man, who 
had trusted his country in the hour of its distress, was de- 
prived, not only of his interest, on which he depended for 
support, but of a great part of his capital. A necessity 
was created, or an apology furnished, for the non-payment 
of private contracts ; mutual confidence received a deadly 
wound ; and the morals of the people were seriously im- 
paired ; evils, which general Washington, in his circular 
letter, before his resignation, most forcibly predicted. 
These sufferings were increased by restrictions on Ameri- 
can commerce. The intercourse with the British West 
India islands, from which, the colonies had derived large 
quantities of gold and silver, was forbidden to them by the 
English government, in their new character of independent 
states : Spain denied their right of navigating the Missis- 
sippi : and they could no longer safely enter the Mediter- 
ranean ; a privilege which they had always enjoyed, when 
a part of the British empire. Unable to defend themselves 
against the Aigerines, whose forbearance was purchased 
by England, they were constrained either to relinquish a 
beneficial trade, or insure their adventures, to that quarter, 
at a ruinous premium. Thus, when the people supposed 
their troubles at an end, they found that they were only 
varied ; that they had obtained liberty, without the con- 
comitant blessings of freedom ; the name, without the at- 
tributes of a nation. 

Feeling the pressure of their sufferings, and unprovided 
with a remedy, because unacquainted with their source, 
the inhabitants became uneasy ; and many were ready to 
adopt any desperate measures that turbulent leaders recom- 
mended. Several thousand disorderly citizens of Massa- 
chusetts, headed by Daniel Shay, who had been a subaltern 
l^QQ officer in the revolutionary war, complaining of 
heavy taxes, threatened to march to Boston and 



THE UNITED STATES. 190 



compel the general assembly to reduce them ; attacked 
the arsenal at Springfield, and thus opposed the laws which 
their own authority had framed. However, by the mod- 
eration of the legislature, aided by the bravery and good 
conduct of generals Lincoln and Shepherd, who were plac 
ed at the head of a firm and well-affected militia, the in^ 
surgents were speedily dispersed, with inconsiderable loss 
of lives. 

The friends of social order and national respectability, 
were not idle spectators of this accumulating danger. In 
accordance with a motion of James Madison, a proposal 
was made by Virginia, to all the other states, to meet in 
convention, for the purpose of digesting a form of govern- 
ment, equal to the exigences of the Union. Delegates, 
from every state, except Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia, 
I^qj on the 25th of May ; chose general Washington 
president ; and, after deliberating with closed doors 
until the 17th of September, agreed on a new plan of na- 
tional government. This, being transmitted to the state 
legislatures, was by them referred to conventions, specially 
appointed in each, by the people ; and, at length, but not 
without considerable opposition, was adopted. 

When the people were examining the merits of this plan, 
its principle and arrangement were ably developed and de- 
fended in a series of essays, signed Publius. These, which 
now appear in a volume entitled the Federalist, w T ere written 
by three authors, (colonel) Alexander Hamilton, Mr. Jay, 
and Mr. Madison ; but the last two furnished only a few 
papers ; nearly the whole being from the pen of Hamilton. 
This work may be ranked in the highest class of writings 
on the economy of government. The view which it af- 
fords of the several confederations, amongst the states of 
Greece and Germany, Switzerland and Holland, and of the 
constitution of Great Britain ; thereby displaying, in a lu- 
minous train of argument, the superiority of the American 
constitution ; renders it invaluable to the politician ; espe- 
cially, of the United States ; and places the Federalist in 
honourable competition with the labours of De Lolme, 
Montesquieu, and Blackstone. 

By the new constitution, all legislative powers are vested 
in a congress of the United States, consisting of a senate, 
and a house of representatives. 

The executive power is vested in the president ; who 
must be a natural born citizen, or have been a naturalized 
citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption 



200 



HISTORY OF 



of this constitution ; of the age of thirty-five years, four- 
teen of which he must have resided within the country. 
He holds his office during the term of four years ; and, 
together with a vice-president, chosen for the same period, 
is appointed by electors, chosen according to regulations 
of the several states. The president is commander-in-chief 
of the land and sea forces of the United States, and of the 
militia of the individual states when called into the general 
service. 

The senate is composed of two persons from each state ; 
chosen, by its own legislature, for six years ; divided, after 
its assembling, as equally as possible, into three classes ; of 
which, the seats of the first class are vacated at the end of 
the second year; those of the second, at the expiration of 
the fourth ; and those of the third class, at the termination 
of the sixth year. A senator must have attained the age 
of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States. 

The house of representatives is composed of members 
chosen by ballot, without any reference to their property 
or their religion, every second year, in the several states ; 
by electors having the same qualifications necessary to en 
title them to vote for delegates to the most numerous 
branch of their respective state legislatures. No person 
can be a representative, who has not attained the age of 
twenty-five years ; been seven years a citizen of the United 
States ; and who is not, when elected, an inhabitant of that 
state in which he shall have been chosen. The number of 
representatives must not exceed one for every thirty thou- 
sand of the population. 

Congress assembles at least once in every year ; which 
meeting is fixed to be on the first Monday in December. 
Members of both houses receive a compensation for their 
services, paid out of the treasury of the United States ; and 
are privileged from arrest, during their attendance, or their 
journey, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of 
the peace. 

No senator or representative can be appointed to any civil 
office, under the authority of the United States, which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have 
been increased, during the term of his election ; and no 
person holding any official situation in the general govern- 
ment, can be a member of either house, during his continu- 
ance in office. 

Every bill, when it has passed the house of representa- 



THE UNITED STATES. 201 

tives and the senate, must, before it becomes a law, be car- 
ried to the president of the United States. If he approve, 
he shall sign it : but, if he disapprove, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that house in which it originated ; 
where it shall be re-considered. If two-thirds of the mem- 
bers shall then agree to pass the bill, it is sent, together 
with the objections, to the other house ; by whom, likewise, 
it is to be re-considered ; and, if approved, by a similar 
v majority, it becomes a law : or, if any bill shall not have 
been returned by the president within ten days after its 
presentation, it becomes a law, as if it had received his sig- 
nature. 

Congress has power to lay and collect taxes ; to pay the 
debts, and provide for the common defence and general 
welfare, of the United States ; to borrow money ; to regu- 
late foreign commerce ; to establish a uniform system of 
naturalization ; to coin money, and fix the standard of 
weights and measures ; to establish post-offices and post- 
roads ; to declare war, grant letters of marque, raise and 
support armies, and provide and maintain a navy. 

No title of nobility can be granted, either by the united 
or the individual states ; nor can any person, holding a pub- 
lic office, accept of any emolument, employment, or title, 
from a foreign state, without the consent of Congress. 

The United States guarantee to every member of this 
great political family a republican form of government; 
and are bound to protect it against invasion, and domestic 
violence. Provision is made for the occasional amending 
of the constitution ; to uphold which, all officiating persons - 
are pledged, by oath or affirmation : but no religious test is 
ever to be required as a qualification for any office under 
the United States. 

The judicial power of the United States is vested in one 
supreme court, and in such district and circuit courts aa 
congress shall think proper to erect. 

Thus, were established, two separate governments ovei 
the Union ; one, for local purposes, over each state, by the 
people, as citizens of each state ; the other, for national 
purposes, over all the states, by the people, as citizens of 
the United States. 
I^qq Members of both branches of the legislature as- 
sembled, in the beginning of April, at New York ; 
where, they were, soon afterwards, joined by the former 
commander-in-chief: who, now in his fifty-seventh year, 
by the unanimous voice of the people, had again been call- 



202 HISTORY OF 

ert from his agricultural pursuits, and, with much reluc- 
tance, consented to act as president of the United States. 
On his way to the seat of government, one emotion of 
delightful recollections pervaded the whole community. 
When he had crossed the Delaware, and landed on the 
Jersey shore, he was saluted by the inhabitants with three 
cheers ; the spontaneous greetings of overflowing hearts ; 
more grateful to a patriot's ear, than the hired flourishes 
of a thousand trumpets. When he came to the brow of 
the hill, on his way to Trenton, he beheld, on the bridge 
which crosses the Assanpinck creek, a triumphal arch, 
erected under the superintendence of the ladies of the 
place. The crown of the arch was highly ornamented 
with flowers and laurels ; and displayed, in large characters, 
in commemoration of the surprise of Trenton, " December 
26th, 1776: The hero who defended the Mothers, will 
also protect the Daughters." On the north side, were little 
girls, dressed in white, with garlands on their heads, and 
baskets of flowers on their arms : in the second row, stood 
the young ladies, and behind them the matrons,, of the 
neighbourhood. When Washington was passing the arch, 
the children began to sing the following ode : 

" Welcome, mighty chief, once more, 
welcome to this grateful shore : 
now, no mercenary foe 
aims again the fatal blow, 
aims at thee the fatal blow. 

" Virgins fair and matrons grave, 
(these, thy conquering arm did save,) 
build, for thee, triumphal bowers. — 
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers, 
strew your hero's way with flowers."* 

The 30th of April was fixed for his taking the oath of 
office : which was acftninistered by Mr. Livingston, chan- 
cellor of the state of New York, in the presence of an im- 
mense concourse of citizens. W r hen the president retired 
to the senate chamber, he addressed both houses in an im- 
pressive speech ; reminding them, that no truth was more 
thoroughly established, than that there exists an indissolu- 
ble union between virtue and happiness ; — between duty 
and advantage ; between the genuine maxims of an honest 

* The author of this work, by using a capital letter only at the begin- 
ning of each period, has taken the liberty of varying from the established 
mode of writing English poetic verse. 



THE UNITED STATES. 203 



and magnanimous people, and the solid rewards of public 
prosperity and felicity ; and that the propitious smiles of 
Heaven could never be expected on a nation who disre- 
garded the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven 
itself had ordained. He concluded by saying, that, in con- 
formity with the principle he had adopted when command- 
er-in-chief, he renounced all pecuniary compensation for 
his presidential duties, further than was equivalent to his 
additional expenditure in office : which should not, at any 
time, be greater than was required for the public good. 

The annual salary of the president was fixed at twenty- 
five thousand dollars ; of the vice-president, secretary of 
state, and secretary of the treasury, each five thousand : 
the secretary of war was to receive four thousand five hun- 
dred dollars ; and the attorney-general, three thousand. 
John Adams was elected vice-president : the remaining 
great political departments were, by Washington's ap- 
pointment, filled, respectively, by Thomas Jefferson, colo- 
nel Hamilton, general Knox, and Edmund Randolph. John 
Jay received the office of chief justice : the associate judges 
were John Rutledge, James Wilson, John Cushing, Robert 
Harrison, and John Blair. 

The people of the United States now possessed the means 
of future happiness in a more ample measure than they had 
ever been enjoyed by any other ; — a constitution framed by 
their wisest and most virtuous men, and approved by them- 
selves ; embracing all that was valuable, and excluding 
every thing that was found injurious, in the British form 
of government ; with deficiencies supplied, and superflui- 
ties retrenched ; in which, merit was rewarded by election, 
and hereditary distinctions were unknown : a chief, saga- 
cious to discern, able and determined to protect, the in- 
terest of society ; to repress the turbulent, and conciliate 
the discontented : a soil fertile to generate, and a climate 
suitable to mature, the various productions of the globe ; 
stored with every mineral essential to the real wants of 
society, and with many required for its decoration : streams, 
which in one place perforin the office of human labour, and 
in another facilitate the exchanges of foreign and domestic 
commerce. 

To replenish the empty treasury, was the first object of 
legislative attention. For this purpose, duties were levied 
on imported merchandise, and reasonable taxes imposed 
1790 ° n ^ e t(Kina ? e °f vesse ^ s - T ne next, was the sup- 
port of public credit. In the month of January 



204 



HISTORY OF 



colonel Hamilton brought forward a system, luminous in 
its detail, and ingenious in its application ; perhaps the best 
that could be devised to unite the conflicting interests. His 
mode of funding the public debt, gave rise to much ani- 
mated discussion ; in which, James Madison proposed an 
amendment, more difficult in practice, and not less objec- 
tionable in its principle. Mr. Hamilton advocated a reduc- 
tion of the established interest; Mr. Madison, a discrimi- 
nation between the original lender of money and the pres- 
ent holder of certificates. The principle of the secretary, 
however, and nearly his entire plan, were adopted ; fund- 
ing one part of the debts at three per cent. ; deferring the 
accruing of any interest on another portion, for ten years ; 
and limiting the highest rate of interest to six per cent. In 
this arrangement, besides fifty-four millions of the general 
debt, were included twenty-one millions and a half of the 
debts of individual states ; confined to certificates issued 
above their just proportion, for general defence, during the 
revolutionary war. The assumption of the state debts re- 
quired additional revenue ; and suggested the laying of du- 
ties on domestic distilled spirits ; a measure, which, while 
it increased the credit of the United States, had a serious 
effect on the tranquillity of particular sections. 

Notwithstanding the arguments that might justly be of- 
fered against the manner in which the public debts were 
funded ; the system was, on the whole, eminently benefi- 
cial to the country. Public paper, which had previously 
sunk in the proportion of ten to one, rapidly advanced to 
par; and, being now convenient for circulation, invigorated 
agriculture and commerce, to a degree not less than would 
have resulted from the introduction of an equal quantity of 
metallic coin. 

To complete the financial department, colonel Hamilton 
recommended the formation of a national bank. This meas- 
ure was strenuously opposed. Some objected to the utili- 
ty of any banking establishment ; others, to the plan of the 
one proposed : but more, to its institution, on the ground 
of the inadequate constitutional powers of congress ; on 
which, the legislature and the cabinet were divided. A 
Jaw for the purpose having at length passed both houses, 
the president, who was extremely guarded against infring- 
ing the constitution, required from the heads of depart- 
ments their opinions on the subject; and then, examining 
it in all its relations, deliberately gave it the sanction of his 
name. The bank was chartered for twenty years ; its capi- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



205 



tal was ten millions, in shares of four hundred dollars each. 
The instalment certificates were in so great demand, that 
they rose in a short time to two hundred dollars advance 
on the first payment of twenty-five. Branches, termed of- 
fices of discount and deposit, were established in the prin- 
cipal sea-ports of the United States ; the parent bank be- 
ing placed in Philadelphia, at that time the seat of govern- 
ment. 

But the public blessings which we have been contem- 
plating, were not without alloy. The immense wealth ac- 
quired by individuals, from the increase in the value of 
property, and especially of the public stocks, made them 
objects of envy. While the partizans of Hamilton, and 
those enriched by his plans, adored him as the financial sa- 
viour of the United States, others reviled him as the friend 
of monarchy, w 7 ho wished to invest the government with 
artificial strength, by raising up a monied aristocracy, obe- 
dient to its will ; and, at the very time when the country 
was enjoying unexampled prosperity from the wise ad- 
ministration of an efficient government, its authors were 
loaded with execrations, by a large portion of their fellow- 
citizens. 

A criminal resistance was thus promoted to the payment 
of the excise duty on domestic spirits. This duty was par- 
ticularly obnoxious to those inhabitants of Pennsylvania 

1791 ^ we ^ on tne western s ^ e °f tne Allegheny 

mountains. A meeting of delegates from the mal- 
contents was held at Pittsburgh ; where, all who should 
obey or execute the excise law, were proscribed as enemies 
to their country. Government was careful to remove all 
real grievances. In the following summer, the law was re- 
vised, and every reasonable objection cancelled or amend- 
ed. But the amendment was unavailing. The very prin- 
ciple of excise was the object of hostility. A second meet- 
ing was convened ; in which, resolutions w T ere adopted for 

1794 °PP osm o t- ne execution of the law : the marshal, 
when in the performance of his duty, was shot at by 
a party of armed men ; and, on the following day, the in- 
surgents, to the number of five hundred, attacked the house 
of the inspector, and forced him, together w T ith a small 
military guard, to surrender. 

Sensations the most distressing pervaded the breast of 
general Washington. Humanity restrained the avenging 
sword of justice, in one hand ; while the solemn obliga- 
tions of duty directed his attention to the balance, in thu 
18 



206 



HISTORY OF 



other. He determined to execute the laws ; and, to em- 
ploy an army sufficient, from its numbers, to make re- 
sistance desperate. The utmost force the insurgents could 
bring into the field, was supposed to be seven thousand. 
A requisition was accordingly made, to the governors of 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, for an 
army of fifteen thousand. The militia turned out with un- 
common alacrity. The troops of New Jersey and Penn- 
sylvania rendezvoused at Bedford ; those of Maryland and 
Virginia, at Cumberland, on the Potomac. The president 
visited each division, and left the whole under the com- 
mand of general (late colonel) Lee, then governor of Vir- 
ginia. He marched into the disturbed country ; but found 
no armed bodies of the insurgents : the greatness of the 
force produced the desired effect, and restored tranquillity, 
without bloodshed. 

While the extremity of Pennsylvania was thus suffering 
from the insurrectionary spirit, its capital was afflicted with 
a melancholy visitation of Providence. In the year 1793, 
Philadelphia was ravaged by the awful effects of a yellow 
fever. It commenced early in August, and continued for 
about three months ; during which time, there died four 
I thousand, out of a population of sixty thousand, by that dis- 
order alone. Its greatest height was about the middle of 
October ; when, one hundred and twenty persons were car- 
ried off in a single day. Many fled to the country : the 
usual vocations of society were abandoned. The streets 
became a desert. Distress appeared in every form. In the 
midst, however, of this calamity, much benevolence was 
shown. A committee took charge of the sick poor, and 
provided them with a house, medicine, and attendance ; 
and the orphans were nursed, fed, and furnished with 
every comfort. About the middle of November, the dis- 
order ceased ; the citizens returned ; and business re-assum- 
ed its course. Since that period, a similar species of fever 
has, at intervals, appeared in Philadelphia, and other com- 
mercial cities in the United States ; particularly, in New 
York, Baltimore, Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans : 
but, from the precautionary measures of the several boards 
of health, malignant fevers, foi nearly the last twenty years, 
are almost unknown in any of the towns situated to the 
north of Charleston. 

Amongst the distinguished individuals during that ca- 
lamitous season, the most conspicuous was Benjamin Rush,* 



THE UNITED STATES. 



207 



whether we consider his humanity, his fearless conduct 
amidst the appalling scenes of contagion, or the skill with 
which he combated the destructive antagonist. This ac- 
complished physician, already known as an active member 
of that congress which voted the independence of his coun- 
try, was a native of Pennsylvania. He was born about 
twelve miles from Philadelphia ; the third in descent from 
English ancestors, who accompanied William Penn. His 
classical education was completed at Princeton ; his medi- 
cal, in the celebrated school of Edinburgh. Ambitious, at 
an early age, to excel in his profession, he registered, in a 
common-place book, every occurrence worthy of remem- 
brance. Great, was the benefit derived from his juvenile 
record. To that journal, happily commenced in his eigh- 
teenth year, he had recourse, at the age of fifty, for the on- 
ly account then extant of a malignant fever which had pre- 
vailed in Philadelphia in the year 1762 ; having thereby, 
preserved valuable information as to its general symptoms, 
and the most effective mode of resisting its effects. In cases 
of an alarming or desperate nature, his decisions were firm, 
and his practice intrepid. He not unfrequently lost credit, 
for a time, in subduing sickness, and saving life, by reme- 
dies that were not approved by his connexions or his friends. 
This trait in his character, Dr. Rush now strikingly dis- 
played. His house, although itself the abode of sickness, 
was the resort of thousands, whom he was unable to visit at 
their dwellings. Their confidence was not misplaced. He 
devised a mode of treatment, w r hich tended greatly to over- 
come the malignant power of the disease : and, devoting 
himself entirely to the service of the afflicted, he remained 
at his post until the mortality ceased ; although he himself 
had been a subject of its attack, and many of the faculty 
had sought an asylum in the country. His professional 
works are contained in three volumes ; entitled, Medical In- 
quiries and Observations ; and a fourth volume, composed 
of introductory lectures.* 

Two new states had now been admitted as members of 
the great federal government, — Vermont and Kentucky. 
Vermont was formed into an independent community 
against much opposition, and received into the Union in 
1791. Owing to British acts of parliament, inconsistent 
with each other, the soil was claimed by several adjacent 
states ; particularly, by New York. Civil war between the 



* Dr. Rush died, after a short illness, in the year 1813, 



208 



HISTORY OF 



parties was repeatedly approached ; but hostilities were re- 
strained by the paternal advice of Washington, and finally 
prevented by the eloquence of Alexander Hamilton ; who 
induced New York to acquiesce in the demand of Vermont 
for independence. — Kentucky owes its political existence to 
the liberal spirit of Virginia. It was a part of this province, 
until she authorized and encouraged the former in the es- 
tablishment of a separate government, to be organized by 
the free voice of its own inhabitants. This was according- 
ly done, in the year 1785 ; and, in 1792, it was admitted 
into the Union, on equal terms with its indulgent parent. 
Kentucky, (a name which signifies, in the Indian language, 
the Land of Blood,) was known, at an early period, by the 
French ; but was long carefully hidden from the knowledge 
of the British colonies. In 1714, Mr. Spotswood, governor 
of Virginia, made a journey to the Allegheny mountains ; 
ascertained the practicability of crossing them ; and, from 
their lofty summits, beheld the beautiful western plains 
comprehended within his jurisdiction. Hunters and Indian 
traders, before and afterwards, had occasionally traversed 
them ; but James M'Bride was the first white person that 
visited the country with a view of settling. In 1754, he 
carved his name on a tree, as an evidence of his taking pos- 
session. The French war, however, which immediately fol- 
lowed, prevented the execution of his design. The earliest 
permanent settlement was made by colonel Daniel Boon ; 
who, with a few companions, explored it in 1769. But this 
little colony, meeting with nothing but hardships, grew ex- 
ceedingly disheartened. They were plundered, dispersed, 
or killed, by the wandering Indians ; except Boon himself, 
who continued a solitary inhabitant of the wilderness, until 
the year 1771. The colonel was not easily discouraged. He 
returned to this fertile region, accompanied by forty fam- 
ilies of Powell's Valley ; who, in 1773, were the whole popu- 
lation of Kentucky. The oldest settlement is Boonsborough. 
Lexington was commenced in 1782. This country was 
never inhabited by the Indians : it was only known to them 
by the name of the Dark and Bloody Ground ; being claim- 
ed by various tribes, whose titles, if they had any, were so 
obscure, as to render it doubtful to which nation it be- 
longed ; and hence, it became a theatre of war, and the re- 
sidence only of wild beasts. Its progress in population and 
general improvement, almost exceeds belief. The annals 
of colonization do not, as far as our information extends, 
afford any previous instance of similar advancement. 



THE UNITED STATES. 209 

The extension of settlements beyond the Ohio, was much 
retarded by the hostile disposition of the Indians. Com- 
pelled, through necessity, to make a seeming relinquish- 
ment of those lands, on which they had drawn their earliest 
breath, and ranged, undisturbed, in pursuit of their favourite 
game, the untutored children of the forest, like the sophis- 
ticated politicians of the eastern world, adhered to their 
agreements no longer than they were constrained by inte- 
rest or fear. The Indians were now a formidable people. 
They had been instructed by the French in the use of fire- 
arms, iron tomahawks, and swords ; and had acquired con- 
siderable knowledge of their discipline. In natural cour- 
age, they were never deficient : though, in bodily strength, 
they were inferior to the Virginians, and other descendants 
of Europeans ; especially, to those who inhabited the hilly 
country of the west. 

In the south, the Creek Indians, whose fighting men 
amounted to six hundred, under M'Gillivray, the son of a 
white man, had been at war with Georgia : peace, however, 
was restored there, in 1790, in consequence of a treaty sign- 
ed by that chieftain, at New York. Pacific overtures, made 
to the north-western Indians, were rejected. In the follow- 
ing year, fourteen hundred men, of whom three hundred 
were regulars, and the remainder militia from Kentucky 
and Pennsylvania ; the whole under the command of gen- 
eral Harmar ; were sent to destroy their settlements on the 
Scioto and the Wabash ; but the militia being panic-struck, 
the expedition was defeated, with the loss of three hundred 
and sixty men killed. The next attempt against these peo- 
ple, was still more disastrous. General St. Clair, at that 
time governor of the western territory, being placed at the 
head of two thousand militia and regulars, proceeded to 
destroy the Indian villages on the Miami, and expel the 
inhabitants from that country : but, owing to the shameful 
conduct of the militia, he was completely routed, by an in- 
ferior number of the enemy ; who killed, in the battle and 
during the retreat, thirty-eight officers and nearly six hun- 
dred privates. Amongst the dead, was the gallant general 
Butler : amongst the wounded, were colonels Gibson and 
Darke, major Butler and adjutant Sargent ; officers of dis- 
tinguished merit. Seldom, had the Americans experienced 
so severe a loss ; and never from an enemy so contemptible 
in number. St. Clair, having resigned, was succeeded by 
general Wayne ; who, in September, 1793, reached the 
ground where that officer had been defeated, erected a fort, 
18* 



210 



HISTORY OF 



to which he gave the name of Recovery, and made every 
preparation for advancing against the Indian settlements 
early in the following year. On the 20th of August, after 
ineffectual endeavours to negotiate a peace, a general en- 
gagement ensued near the Miami. The Indians amounted 
to about two thousand ; the American army, to three thou 
sand : of whom, two-thirds were regulars, and the remain 
der mounted militia, from Kentucky, commanded by gen 
eral Scott. 

The action was decisive : the Indians were completely 
routed. General Wayne drove them out of the country 
and erected forts in the midst of their late settlements, to 
prevent their return. 

In the year after, Wayne concluded, at Greenville, treat- 
ies with the hostile Indians north-west of the Ohio; by 
which, peace was established, on terms mutually satisfac- 
tory and beneficial. A humane system now commenced 
for ameliorating their condition. They were, henceforth, 
protected by the United States from the impositions and 
incursions of lawless white people ; taught the use of the 
loom ; and encouraged in the pursuits of agriculture : meas- 
ures reflecting high praise on colonel Hawkins, who was 
amongst the first to execute the benevolent intentions, 
originally projected by the humane spirit of general Wash- 
ington. 

CHAPTER IX. 

FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

Short War with France. Jay's treaty with Great Britain. 
Death of General Washington, 

While the administration were employed in quelling the 
refractory, and restraining the inroads of a subtle enemy 
within the bosom of the country, they were unexpectedly 
involved in a foreign war, by the great political convulsions 
of Europe. Emboldened by the success of the American 
revolution, the people of France had proceeded in their en- 
deavours to obtain freedom, until they had deprived their 
unhappy monarch of his sceptre, and finally of his life ; and 
were now contending, single-handed, against the surround- 
ing states. In this situation, the French Directory turned 



THE UNITED STATES. 21. 



their eyes towards America, and demanded, in the friend 
ship and assistance of the emancipated colonies, a return for 
the aid rendered them by Louis ; an aid given by a sovereign 
whom they had deposed ; whose interest was unconnected 
with his people's : and that the United States would violate 
the bond of peace, the attainment of which was the only 
merit claimed by their former allies. The minister ap- 
pointed by their fallen monarch having been recalled from 
the United States, M. Genet was sent over in his place. 
This envoy treated the American republic more like a 
tributary vassal, than a country holding a high rank amongst 
independent nations. In a few days after his landing, which 
was at Charleston, he undertook to authorize the arming of 
vessels in that port, and the enlisting of men ; giving com- 
missions, in the name of the French government, to cruise 
at sea, and commit hostilities on land, against nations with 
w r hich the United States were at peace. The British min- 
ister remonstrated. The president, before the arrival of 
Genet, had determined on the line he should pursue ; which 
was, a strict neutrality ; and issued the proper orders for 
defeating the unwarrantable interference of the French am- 
bassador. A large body of the people, however, were, at 
this time, favourable to the French encroachments ; — some, 
enlightened men, who were willing to sacrifice ever\ thing, 
to aid a country struggling for liberty against a world in 
arms ; many, through a desire of profit ; and more, through 
ignorance, — anxious to repay an obligation, yet unable to 
discover to whom they were obliged. Encouraged by 
these generous feelings, Genet designed a measure unex 
ampled in the page of history. He threatened an appeal 
to the people. They, only, he declared, and not. the dele- 
gated authorities, possessed the sovereignty, in a demo- 
cratic state. This appeal offended and alarmed all who 
felt for the honour and independence of their country. 
The president requested that he should be recalled ; and 
he was accordingly superseded. His successors were less 
violent in their deportment, but nearly similar in their de- 
signs. Every day gave indications of an open rupture. 
Not contented with seizing enemies' property -then found 
on board vessels of the United States, the French Directo- 
ry authorized the indiscriminate capture of all vessels sail- 
ing under their flag ; demanded a large sum of money, as 
the price of a negotiation ; and ordered general Pinckney 
and Mr. Marshall, two envoys from the American govern 
ment, to quit the territories of France. 



212 



HISTORY OF 



In the meantime, general Washington, having 
completed a double period of his magisterial duties, 
was succeeded by John Adams, the late vice-president ; the 
office of the latter being rilled by Thomas Jefferson, secre- 
tary of state. 

When the lawless proceedings of the French government 
were known in the United States, they excited the keenest 
and most extensive indignation. The ardour of the revolu- 
tionary period, was rekindled ; the rancour of party was 
suspended. " Millions for defence, but not a cent for tri- 
bute," resounded throughout the Union. Authority was 
given for capturing French armed vessels. Two severe and 
well fought actions took place in the West India seas ; the 
first, between the American frigate Constellation, of thirty- 
1709 eight g uns > commanded by commodore Truxtun, 
and the French frigate, L'Insurgente, of forty ; the 
second, between the Constellation, and La Vengeance of 
fifty guns. L'Insurgente was captured ; but La Vengeance, 
after having struck, escaped in the night, by reason of the 
disabled state of her antagonist. 

Addresses poured in upon the president, from every 
part of the Union ; promising him the most efficient 
support. A military resistance being determined on, all 
eyes were again turned towards their beloved Washington ; 
as the man, who, more than any other, could draw into the 
public service the best military talents, and the whole nat- 
ural strength, of the country. He obeyed the call, and 
accepted the charge of organizing the army, and directing 
its operations. What could not be effected by negotiation, 
was accomplished by the conduct of an heroic soldier. 
When supplicating, America was insulted ; when armed, 
she was respected. France soon intimated a desire for 
peace. Envoys were, accordingly, sent to Paris ; where, 
they found the Directory overthrown, and the government 
in the hands of Buonaparte, with the title of first consul. 
The ambassadors were now received with the respect due 
to their character and country ; all disputes were speedily 
adjusted, and, shortly afterwards, a new treaty between the 
two nations was concluded. 

To the prudent neutrality which the American govern- 
ment maintained, while, for a long series of years, the sev- 
eral kingdoms of Europe were involved, by their indiscre- 
tion, in a destructive war, may be attributed the greater 
part of the wealth gained by the merchants of the United 
States ; the increase and experience of their seamen ; the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



213 



improved skill of their mechanics, and the unrivalled pros- 
perity of their farmers. 

But there was still another power, the great antagonist 
of France, with which, disputes, of not less importance, 
were to be adjusted. This was Great Britain, xilthough, 
since the definitive treaty of Paris, there had occurred no 
open hostilities between England and the United States, yet 
they were far from being on terms of perfect amity and re- 
conciliation. Soon after the termination of the revolutionary 
contest, the two countries charged each other with having 
violated that treaty ; a charge, which, though reciprocally 
denied, was reciprocally proved. The British had stipu- 
lated that they would not carry off the negroes, or destroy 
other property, of the Americans. But the greatest vigi- 
lance, and the purest intentions, could not have secured 
the entire fulfilment of this agreement. Good faith to the 
blacks produced an infraction of contract with the whites , 
for, many of the former, being in possession of freedom, in 
consequence of having joined the royal standard, could not, 
on any principle of English law, be delivered as slaves to 
their American masters. One failure produced another. 
The Americans had agreed to pay the British merchants 
all debts contracted before the war, in sterling money. This 
stipulation was very generally infringed. Some were pre- 
vented from fulfilling their engagements by the loss of their 
negroes, and the consequent non-cultivation of their lands ; 
others, by the unjust measures of the individual states, com- 
pelling the acceptance of depreciated paper, in place of 
coin. The evil did not terminate with these. The non- 
payment, on the part of the Americans, of their mercantile 
debts, was assigned by Great Britain as a reason for retain- 
ing the military posts on the south side of the lakes, which 
form the northern boundary of the United States. In this 
unsettled posture of affairs, Great Britain became opposed 
to France in the great continental war, which has already 
been a subject of our notice. As France was then gene- 
rally beloved in the United States, and England proportion 
ably hated, the hostile feeling that before existed, was 
thenceforth increased ; not only from the previous excite- 
ment, but from new causes, arising from the war. The 
Americans had become the shipping carriers of France , 
and, adhering to their favourite principle, that " free ships 
make free goods," were indignant at the frequent searches, 
as well as captures of their vessels, and of French property 
on board. But of this conduct, the American merchants 



HISTORY OF 



could, in justice, only partially complain. By the treaty 
which ended the revolutionary war, the search of their ves- 
sels, and the seizure of enemies' property on board, were 
formally permitted : notwithstanding, that, by a previous 
agreement between the United States and France, a contrary 
principle had been sanctioned, as regarded the relations of 
the latter. 

As an ultimate resource for the preservation of peace, 
Mr. Jay, chief-justice of the United States, w r as deputed (in 
1794, by general Washington) envoy extraordinary to Lon- 
don. A treaty was. the result of this mission, in the ensuing 
year. But, though more was now yielded than at any for- 
mer period of the negotiation, the concessions, on the part 
of England, w^ere much less, and, on the part of the United 
States, much greater, than were pleasing to the majority of 
the American people. The posts were given up, and com- 
pensation was made for several of the illegal captures. 
Their favourite maxim, how r ever, that " free ships make 
free goods," was abandoned, and the search of their mer- 
chant vessels admitted. The United States agreed to pay 
six hundred thousand pounds sterling to the British gov- 
ernment, in trust for the English creditors of the Amer- 
icans, for all remaining claims of individuals of the one 
nation against individuals of the other : thus, settling all 
grounds of controversy emanating from the revolution. 

The happiness arising from the accommodation w r ith the 
French, was more general; but it was mingled with a re- 
cent grief, that checked the full expression of public feel- 
ing. Washington, than whom, though none was ever more 
alert in war, none more sincerely cherished the benign 
sentiments of peace, was not allowed to partake in the 
general joy. Before accounts arrived of this amicable ad- 
justment, he ceased to be numbered with the living. 

He had received a slight sprinkling of rain, while at- 
tending some improvements at Mount Vernon. In the fol- 
lowing night, he was seized with an inflammation in his 
throat ; shortly afterwards followed by fever and difficulty 
of breathing. He w T as immediately bled ; but would not 
allow his family physician to be called before day. Dr. 
Craik arrived about eleven, and, by his recommendation, 
was soon joined in consultation by two other physicians. 
But their united powers were unavailing. On the 14th of 
December, in about twenty-four hours from the time of his 
usual health, he expired, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. 

The equanimity which attended him through life, did 



THE UNITED STATES. 



215 



not forsake him on his death-bed. He submitted, to the 
inevitable stroke, with the becoming firmness of a man, the 
calmness of a philosopher, the resignation and confidence of 
a Christian. When convinced that his dissolution was fast 
approaching, he requested leave to die without further in- 
terruption : then, undressed himself, went tranquilly to bed, 
and, having placed himself in a suitable attitude, soon af- 
terwards closed his eyes with his own hands, and yielded 
up his spirit without a struggle. 

As no pencil has been able correctly to delineate the im- 
pressive dignity of his countenance; nor any chisel, the ma- 
jestic figure of his person ; so, no pen can fully concentrate 
the transcendent qualities of his mind, or the amiable dis- 
positions of his heart. The history of his country is hi? 
best eulogium ; his most faithful monument, the love and 
admiration of the world. 

The same Providence which guided the affairs of the 
revolution, and, in the agency of Washington, raised man 
almost above his accustomed rank in the creation, withdrew 
his favourite production, when human talent, or human 
virtue, was no longer sufficient to preserve the tranquillity, 
or retain the veneration, of his country. The pages of fu- 
turity, if then unfolded, would have reversed the deep sen- 
sations of regret; by changing into thankfulness, the un- 
equalled feelings caused by a departure, at an age that prom- 
ised many years of happiness to himself, and benefit to his 
country. 

The mind of the great Washington was not more solici- 
tous for the welfare of the nation, than for the comfort of 
the poor. His charities, while given with a discerning, 
were diffused with an unsparing, hand. On each of his 
plantations, a corn-house was every year filled, solely for 
their use ; on one of his best fishing-shores, he kept, in 
complete order for them, a* boat and net ; and men ready to 
help those who were themselves too weak to haul the seine : 
and, so feelingly attentive was he to any poor persons who 
wished to speak to him, that he had a room set apart for 
them ; and, though in company with the most distinguished 
characters, he instantly begged a few moments' absence, 
and attended the distressed. 

General Washington had never any offspring. In his 
twenty-seventh year, he had married Mrs. Custis ; a lady, 
who, to a handsome person and large fortune, added every 
accomplishment that contributes to the felicity of the con- 
nubial state. To Mrs. Washington, his domestic partner 



21G 



HISTORY OF 



fo 1 * forty years, he bequeathed, during her life, Mount 
Vernon, and a considerable share of his extensive lands ; 
which, on her decease, were to become the property of his 
nephew, Bushrod Washington. To his brother Charles, 
he left only a memorial of his affection ; in consideration of 
the ample provision made by him for his. children. Mrs. 
Washington's grand-children were remembered as his 
own : every branch of his numerous relations, and many 
charitable institutions, experienced the liberality of his 
heart. He directed that his negroes should be emancipated, 
after Mrs. Washington's decease ; lamenting that impedi- 
ments insurmountable had prevented his liberating them 
before : he provided for the support and education of the 
young on his plantations, and for the maintenance of the 
old and infirm. 



CHAPTER X. 

FOUNDING OF WASHINGTON. 

Removal of the seat of government to the new capital, Wash- 
ington. War with Tripoli. Tennessee. Ohio. Purchase 
of Louisiana. Trial of Aaron Burr. 

It had been strongly advised by Washington, that the 
seat of government should be removed to a place more con- 
venient for the general interest of the United States, than 
either New York or Philadelphia. Accordingly, at the sec- 
ond session, after the formation of the new federal govern- 
ment, his recommendation was, adopted. A territory, ten 
miles on every side, now called the District of Columbia, 
having been ceded, for this purpose, by Virginia and Mary- 
land, a city, bearing the name of the illustrious protector of 
his country, was founded on the Potomac, in that portion 
given by the latter state. The ancient laws of the ceded ter- 
ritory were secured to the respective divisions; and the sove- 
reign authority of the District was vested in the general 
congress. In 1800, the public offices were removed from 
Philadelphia (the seat of the federal government for the 
preceding ten years) to the infant capital ; in which, mag- 
nificent buildings had been erected for their accommodation; 
and congress met there in December. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



217 



ftn At the usual period before the completion of the 
presidential term of duty, John Adams was again 
a candidate, but was successfully opposed by Thomas Jef- 
ferson ; the vice-president elected being Aaron Burr. 

Harmony now subsisted between the United States and 
the great European powers. But a new scene of vexation, 
and eventually of war, arose, from the piracies of the Bar- 
bary states. The disputes which had, for some time, ex- 
isted, with the tributary princes of the Turkish empire, 
those of Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco, were settled by trea- 
ty, without the occurrence of any remarkable event. But 
there remained another of these barbarian freebooters, with 
whom a similar adjustment was impracticable, until chas- 
tised, in some degree, to submission. 

The bashaw of Tripoli, having dismissed the American 
consul, and threatened speedy depredations on the Amer- 
ican commerce, unless certain demands of tribute were con- 
ceded ; on the refusal of the United States to comply with 
these degrading terms, proceeded to the execution of his 
threats. Several vessels were accordingly captured. But 
these insults were not suffered to remain long unavenged. 
The navy of the United States, though small in number, 
was not deficient in activity and courage. Captain Sterret, 
in the schooner Enterprise, fell in with a Tripolitan cruiser, 
off Malta. A desperate engagement ensued. It was, in 
the first instance, continued several hours, when the Tri- 
politan hauled down her colours. The crew of the Enter- 
prise, quitting their guns, gave three cheers ; whereupon, 
the faithless pirate fired a broadside into the American, 
hoisted her flag, and renewed the action with additional fe- 
rocity. But she was soon, again, overcome, and ordered 
under the quarters of the Enterprise. Here, she a second 
time re-commenced the contest, by pouring a broadside into 
her antagonist ; at the same time, hoisting the bloody flag, 
and making strenuous attempts to board. The indignation 
of a generous enemy was now raised to the utmost pitch. — 
" Fight on, and sink the perfidious villains to the bottom," 
exclaimed the American commander. — "Sink her to the 
bottom,'' vociferated his enraged companions. — A position 
was taken, which enabled them to rake her fore-and-aft. 
Her mizen-mast was shot away ; her sides, opened by well- 
directed shots, admitted overwhelming torrents from the 
sea; her commander, throwing his colours overboard, im- 
plored for mercy. The supplication was not made in vain. 
19 



218 



HISTORY OF 



The wretches were allowed the unmerited rights of civilized 
warfare. His instructions not permitting him to capture the 
vanquished corsair, captain Sterret ordered her crew to throw 
her guns into the sea ; and, having paid every attention to 
the wounded Tripolitans that humanity could dictate, he or- 
dered their vessel to be dismantled. Her remaining masis 
were cut down : a spar was erected, to which was hung, as 
a flag, a tattered sail ; and, in this condition, she was sent 
into Tripoli, as an awful specimen of what might be expect 
ed from a nation determined to pay tribute only in powder 
and ball. The reception of her treacherous commander was 
in comformity with the sentiments of his barbarian chief: 
he was punished, not for his perfidy , but for his defeat* 
Mounted on a jackass, he w^as paraded through the town, as 
an object of public scorn, and afterwards, chastised, with 
five hundred bastinadoes, 

In the course of the year, the United States sent three 
frigates and a sloop of war into the Mediterranean, under 
commodore Dale. On his arrival, he blockaded the port of 
Tripoli ; by which means, the piratical vessels being con- 
fined within their harbours, the American commerce was 
effectually secured from molestation. In the following 
year, commodore Murray, when cruising off Tripoli in the 
frigate Constellation, was attacked, during a calm, by a 
formidable number of gun-boats ; but, dashing in amongst 
them, he obliged them to retire in confusion and dismay. 
1S03 next nava l occurrence excites considerable re- 

gret : not, however, as proceeding from misconduct, 
but from unavoidable misfortune. Determined on vigorous 
measures against Tripoli, the government of the United 
States despatched to the Mediterranean, a squadron of sev- 
en sail, — the Philadelphia and Constitution, each of forty- 
four, with the Argus and Syren,, the Nautilus, Enterprise, 
and Vixen, of from fourteen to eighteen guns each ; under 
the command of commodore Preble. The Philadelphia, 
commanded by captain Bainbridge, when returning from a 
fruitless chase, ran upon a rock, not laid down in any known 
chart; distant about five miles from the town of Tripoli. 
To lighten the vessel, all her cannon were thrown over- 
board, except a few, on the upper deck, reserved as a de- 
fence against the gun-boats, which were fast advancing to 
attack her. The 1 fore-mast was cut away, every art was 
tried to get her off; but all proved unavailing. Her situa- 
tion was awfully distressing. Not a ray of hope appeared, 
in lessen, even by fallacious expectation, the terror of ap- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



219 



proaching bondage ; a bondage more dreaded by her in- 
dignant crew, than immediate death. Assailed on all sides, 
deprived of every means of effectual resistance, the Phila 
delphia was compelled to strike her colours, was taken pos- 
session of by the Tripolitans, and her officers and crew, 
amounting to three hundred, were made prisoners. 

This victory, which accident, not valour, had given to 
the barbarians, was, in the following summer, in a great 
measure, regained. Whatever anticipations of future ben- 
efit the Tripolitan chief was enabled to enjoy, in the con- 
templation of individual ransom, he was not long allowed 
the pleasure of beholding the recent accession to his navy. 
A young officer in the American squadron, conceived the 
design of re-taking, or, at least, of destroying, the captured 
frigate ; which had been towed off by the enemy, and was 
then lying at anchor within the harbour. Lieutenant Ste- 
phen Decatur, the projector of the intended enterprise, 
having submitted his plan to the commodore, and received 
his approbation, performed the daring service, with that 
gallantry and judgment, which have, subsequently, in more 
important actions, gained him the respect and admiration 
of his country. Furnished with a small schooner, the In- 
trepid, and seventy men, he sailed from Syracuse, and, 
Iqq^ under a neutral flag, appeared off Tripoli on the 
16th of February, accompanied by the brig Syren; 
which vessel was directed to remain in a convenient station, 
for the purpose, if required, of covering a retreat. When 
within two hundred yards of his object, Decatur was hailed, 
and ordered to anchor, on the peril of being sunk. His pilot 
replied, that her anchors were lost, and carried the schooner 
to within fifty yards of the frigate ; where she was becalmed. 
Decatur warped up his vessel, laid her alongside, sprang 
on board, followed by his determined crew ; rushed, sword 
in hand, upon the Tripolitans, soon overcame them, and, 
amidst a tremendous assault, from two corsairs and the bat- 
teries on shore, set fire to the Philadelphia, and, with his 
brave companions, retired. 

For the intrepidity and skill displayed in this bold enter- 
prise, Decatur was advanced to the rank of post-captain. 

From the 3d to the 29th of August, Preble made three 
general attacks on the Tripolitan batteries ; all conduct- 
ed with admirable gallantry, and producing a correspond- 
ent effect. In the first engagement, lieutenant Decatur, 
brother of the captain, was killed ; but, on the whole, the 
loss was trifling. In another, the American vessels fired 



220 



HISTORY OF 



a hundred and twenty rounds each, and sunk several gun- 
boats and a polacre. The Tripolitan force, on this occa- 
sion, was very great. They had in the harbour twenty-four 
armed vessels, one hundred and fifteen guns on the batte- 
ries, and, besides the inhabitants, forty-five thousand Arabs 
to defend the city. 

But these long-continued demonstrations of heroic reso- 
lution, were not sufficient to break the fetters of captivity, 
nor lessen the rigours of barbarian insolence. The prison- 
ers were treated with atrocious cruelty. They encountered 
cold and hunger, labour, menaces, and stripes : they were 
chained to loaded carts, and, like oxen, compelled to drag 
them through the town. Every remonstrance made by 
captain Bainbridge in behalf of his companions, was un- 
heeded ; every effort to mitigate their sufferings, unsuc- 
cessful. Some new experiment was imperiously demanded. 
It was, therefore, resolved by the American ministry, to 
try another enterprise ; in order to gain the liberation of 
the prisoners, and a speedy and honourable peace. This 
was, a co-operation with Hamet, the ex-bashaw of Tripoli ; 
who had been driven from the government, by the usurpa- 
tion of his younger brother. Accordingly, William Eaton, 
of Massachusetts, who had been, for many years, American 
consul at Tunis, was despatched, to communicate the pro- 
ject to Hamet, and make arrangements for its execution. 
Eaton performed his part with distinguished lustre. After 
much embarrassment, he effected an interview with the 
exiled sovereign, in Upper Egypt ; where he had associ- 
ated with an army of Mamelukes, at war with the Turkish 
government. Hamet was well pleased with the scheme of 
the Americans, and appointed Eaton commander of the 
forces destined for its accomplishment ; an event that would 
restore Hamet to his throne. It was designed to penetrate 
by land into the Tripolitan dominions : with whatever force 
could be mustered amongst the partizans of Hamet, sup- 
ported by as many Americans, and other Christians, as felt 
for the distresses of the imprisoned seamen. On the 6th 
1805 °^ ^ arcn > g enera l Eaton, accompanied by Hamet, 
with three hundred well-mounted Arabs, seventy 
Christians, and about a hundred camels laden with baggage 
and provisions, began his march from Alexandria ; and, 
after fifty-two days, spent in traversing a hideous desert of 
five hundred miles, during which, all the dangers and per- 
severance related in romance seemed realized, he arrived 
before Derna, a city in the regency of Tripoli. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



221 



An army, sent by the reigning bashaw, was hastening to 
its relief; and was then within one day's march of the town. 
No time was therefore to be lost. Eaton summoned it to 
surrender. The governor returned an answer of defiance. 
An assault was made on the next day ; when, after a com- 
bat of two hours and a half, supported, on the water side, 
by part of the American squadron, the town was carried 
by the bayonet. The Christians suffered severely in the 
action ; nearly a third of their number were killed, and 
Eaton himself was wounded. 

On the 18th of May, the Tripoli tans advanced, with the 
design of recovering the captured city : but, after a contest 
of four hours, in which the Christians engaged the barba- 
rians in the proportion of one to a hundred, the latter has- 
tily retreated behind the mountains. On the 10th of June, 
a general battle again occurred ; the American vessels a 
second time co-operated, and galled the enemy by a well- 
directed fire. It lasted nearly five hours, and ended in the 
further overthrow of the assailants. 

The brilliant progress of general Eaton promised the 
most glorious and beneficial result. But the fruits of his 
achievement were blasted, before they reached maturity. 
The object which had been pursued by arms, was suddenly 
attained by treaty ; a mode always to be preferred, when it 
involves no degradation of national character ; always to be 
shunned, when there is a sacrifice of honour. This ar- 
rangement, made with the reigning bashaw, by Mr. Lear, 
and ratified in the United States, obtained the release of 
the prisoners for the sum of sixty thousand dollars ; and 
engaged that the Americans, in withdrawing their forces, 
should use their influence to induce Hamet to retire. 

The state of Massachusetts was not forgetful of the war- 
rior of Derna. While congress was debating whether gen- 
eral Eaton should be rewarded by a sword, or by a medal, 
his countrymen displayed a becoming liberality, in voting 
him ten thousand acres of land. 

Fostered by the parental nature of the government, emi- 
grations from the European world continued to increase. 
New manufactures were introduced into the United States : 
the sciences were annually spreading. Hardy labourers 
from Germany and Ireland assisted in giving strength to 
the republic, by an important addition to its numbers. The 
axe every where resounded through the western forests, 
and new communities sought association with the old. 
Since we noticed the establishment of Kentucky, two other 
19* 



222 



HISTORY OF 



states were joined in the federal constitution, — Tennessee 
and Ohio : formed out of the ancient dominions of the 
Union. In 1789, North Carolina had assigned to the United 
States a large tract of her western lands. This country 
was called the southern territory, and erected by congress 
into a separate government, on the same plan as the north- 
western. In 1794, its inhabitants, having amounted to 
thirty thousand, sent a delegate to congress, who, by law, 
was allowed a seat in the lower house, with a right of de- 
bating, but not of voting ; and, in two years afterwards, it 
was erected into a state, called Tennessee, and admitted to 
a full participation in the advantages of the Union. — Ohio, 
a portion of the territory westward of Pennsylvania, became 
a member of the general government in the year 1802 ; 
under the first American constitution, that declared, ex- 
plicitly, against the practice o£ holding slaves ; in conform- 
ity with a restriction humanely imposed, by congress, upon 
all that region of which it forms a part. Its earliest set- 
tlers were a colony from New England ; who, in 1788, 
founded Marietta, under the superintendence of general 
Putnam. 

In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from the French gov- 
ernment, for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars ; two mil- 
lions and a half of which were to be retained by the United 
States, as compensation for illegal captures made by France. 
At this period, its population did not entitle it to an inde- 
pendent rank ; but a district of it was subsequently admit- 
ted to that privilege, and formed the eighteenth member of 
the great American confederation.* 

In Louisiana, from the undisturbed navigation of the 
Mississippi, now secured ; by which, the Atlantic is con- 
nected with the remote regions- of the west, and, (by its 
joining the Ohio,) with the ancient colonies as far as Penn- 
sylvania ; the United States have acquired a territory, less- 
ened in value only by its magnitude. Nature is there found 
in all the majesty of youth. A new field of enterprise is 
opened, and new productions are added to the rich variety 
of their former catalogue. The sugar of New Orleans, in 
size and brilliancy of grain, is not excelled by any in the 
world : the cotton of the lower district is abundant, and 
suoerior, in staple, to the upland species of Georgia or of 
Carolina. A large quantity of indigo was formerly pro- 
duced there ; but this article, like the indigo of Carolina, 



♦In the year 1812. 



THE UNITED STATES. 223 



has been, for many years past, degenerating in quality, as 
well as decreasing in amount ; the planters having trans- 
ferred their attention to a more profitable cultivation. 

Louisiana, the boundaries of which were not then com- 
pletely ascertained, formed part of the vast region, includ- 
ed, by the Spaniards, under the general name of Florida. 
One of their officers, De Soto, seems to have passed through 
the lower districts of this province, and to have reached the 
Mississippi, at a very early period after the discovery of 
America. But the interior regions were not in any manner 
explored, by Europeans, until about the year 1673; when, 
the French government of Canada sent a few persons to 
learn the truth of a report given by the Indians, respecting 
the existence of that great river. They descended the 
Mississippi, as far down, at least, as the Missouri. But 
little more was done in its examination, until undertaken 
by the enterprising La Salle ; who, boldly following its 
course, arrived, in 1682, at its mouth, in the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, and named the country after Louis the fourteenth. 
New Orleans was founded, and became the seat of govern- 
ment, in 1721. The whole population of the colony did 
not then exceed five hundred. In 1762, by the treaty of 
Fontainbleau, which gave England possession of Spanish 
Florida, France, in a secret article, transferred Louisiana to 
the king of Spain ; with whom, it remained, until restored 
to the French republic, in the year 1800. But the acqui- 
sition was only nominal. The maritime superiority of 
England rendered it impossible for the French to convey 
an army destined for its occupation ; and it was, in conse- 
quence, assigned to the United States, at the period already 
mentioned. 

To render the purchase of the utmost benefit, as well as 
to extend the field of natural science, Messrs. Lewis and 
Clarke, both officers of the regular army, were sent by the 
president, Mr. Jefferson, with instructions drawn by himself, 
to explore the river Missouri and the contiguous countries, 
and discover the best communication with the Pacific Ocean. 
Never was an arduous enterprise accomplished with more 
ability and prudence. Accompanied by thirty-five persons, 
mostly soldiers, they embarked at St. Louis, in suitable 
boats, in May, 1804, and ascended the Missouri to its stu- 
pendous falls, a distance of three thousand miles ; thence, 
crossed the Rocky Mountains, impeded by their everlasting 
snows, and descended various streams, until after travel- 
ling four hundred miles, they reached the navigable waters 



2?4 



HISTORY OF 



of the Columbia ; and, following its course six hundred 
and forty, were recompensed for all their toils and priva- 
tions by a view of the Pacific. They reached St. Louis, on 
their return, in September, 1806, after an absence, from all 
civilization, of more than twenty-seven months. The jour- 
ney from St. Louis, was above four thousand miles ; in re- 
turning, thirty-five hundred ; making, in the whole, seven 
thousand five hundred miles. Only one of their party, of 
a sickly constitution, had died. Amongst all the Indian 
nations through which they passed, they were only once 
incommoded by a skirmish, in defending a rifle. 

Their most dangerous enemies were the bears. These 
are described as' most formidable animals, and frequently 
assailed them. One evening, the men discovered a large 
brown bear, lying on the open ground, about three hundred 
paces from the river. Six good hunters immediately went 
to attack him ; and, concealing themselves by a small emi- 
nence, approached within forty yards. Four of their num- 
ber now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body — two of 
them directly through his lungs. The furious beast sprang 
up, and ran at them with open mouth. As he came near, 
the two hunters who had reserved their fire, gave him two 
wounds ; one of which, having broken his shoulder, retard- 
ed his motion for an instant : but, before they could reload, 
he was so close, that the whole party were compelled to 
run towards the river, and, before they reached it, he had 
almost overtaken them. Two jumped into the canoe ; the 
remaining four separated, and, hiding amongst the willows, 
fired as fast as they could re-load. They struck him several, 
times ; but, instead of weakening the monster, or causing 
him to retreat, each shot seemed to invigorate him, and 
direct him towards the hunters : till, at length, he pursued 
two of them so closely, that they threw aside their guns 
and pouches, and jumped down a perpendicular bank, 
twenty feet, into the river. The bear sprang after them, 
and was within a few feet of the hindmost, when one of the 
hunters on shore shot him through the head, and killed 
him. Captain Lewis, himself, was exposed to a similar 
peril. Having shot a buffalo, one of at least a thousand 
which formed a herd, before he could re-load, he was chased 
by a huge bear for three hundred yards ; when, plunging 
?nto the river, and presenting his spear, the animal was 
deterred ; and, wheeling about, retreated, in as much haste 
as he had pursued. 

The exploring party were frequently invited to share in 



THE UNITED STATES. 



225 



the rude festivities of the Indians. The journal of their ob- 
servations particularly describes an entertainment given 
them by a tribe of the Sioux, called Tetons. After eating 
and smoking for an hour, it became dark, and every thing 
was cleared away for a dance ; a large fire being kindled 
in the centre of the house. The orchestra was composed 
of ten men ; who played on a sort of tambarine, formed 
of a skin stretched across a hoop ; and made a jingling 
noise with the hoofs of deer and goats, suspended from a 
long stick. The third instrument, was a small skin bag, 
containing pebbles. These, with five or six young men, 
for the vocal part, made up the band. The women then 
came forward, highly decorated : some, with poles in their 
hands, to which were hung the scalps of their enemies ; 
others, with spears, guns, and different trophies, taken in 
war, by their husbands, brothers, or connexions. Having 
arranged themselves in two columns, one on each side of 
the fire, they danced towards each other, until they met in 
the centre ; when, the rattles were shaken, and they all re- 
tired to their places. They had no step, but shuffled along 
the ground ; nor did their music appear to be any other 
than a confusion of noises, distinguished only by hard or 
gentle blows. . The song was wholly extemporaneous. In 
the pauses of the dance, any of the company came forward, 
and recited, in a low guttural tone, some little story or 
event ; which was either martial or ludicrous, or voluptu- 
ous and indecent. This was repeated, in a higher tone, by 
the orchestra and dancers ; the latter, at the same time, 
moving in accordance with its strain. The dances of the 
men, which were always separate from those of the women 
were conducted nearly in the same way ; except that thf 
men jumped up and down, instead of shuffling ; and in the 
war dance, the recitations were all of a military cast. The 
harmony of the entertainment was a little disturbed by one 
of the musicians ; who, thinking he had not received a due 
share of the tobacco which Lewis and Clarke had distrib- 
uted, put himself into a passion, broke one of the drums, 
threw two into the fire, and left the house. 
IQQy In the following year, Mr. Pike, an officer highly 
conspicuous for his subsequent conduct in the field 
of battle, accomplished an extensive geographical survey 
of Louisiana ; which, with the former expedition, and the 
industrious researches of Mr. Bradbury, in the botanical 
department, have given all the information required of 



220 



HISTORY OF 



these countries, in the present state of American popula- 
don. 

This period is remarkable, on account of the trial of 
Aaron Burr, for a serious offence against the laws of the 
United States. The circumstances that led to so unpleas- 
ant an occurrence, and to the tragical fate of a distinguish- 
ed member of the republic, by which it was preceded, de- 
serve to be related. At the close of the year 1800, the elec- 
tion for president and vice-president had again occurred 
when, the candidates were, besides John Adams and Thomas 
Jefferson, the magistrates then in office, Charles Pinkney 
and colonel Aaron Burr. Party feeling was high. Strenuous 
efforts were made to change what was called the "federal" 
administration of Mr. Adams, for one thought to be more 
truly democratic. Although the friends of Mr. Jefferson 
the democratic candidate, had intended Burr only as vice 
president, yet, as he had an equal number of votes, the 
awarding of pre-eminence, agreeably with the constitution, 
devolved on the house of representatives. But, after thirty- 
five several ballotings, the issue was indecisive. However, 
Burr having at length declined aspiring to the presidency, 
two federal members, who had supported him merely 
through opposition to Mr. Jefferson, withdrew; and, on 
the thirty-sixth appeal to the ballot, the latter was elected 
to the first, and Burr, of course, became entitled to the 
second, situation. 

This scene agitated the public mind more than any of a 
civil nature that had occurred during the whole adminis- 
tration of the government. It was requisite to guard against, 
a recurrence of so inflammatory result ; and, accordingly, 
by an amendment of the constitution, the electors are di- 
rected to designate the office intended for each individual. 

From that time, Burr, who had been a leading man 
amongst the democratic party, declined in favour with his 
political adherents. They suspected, that he had connived 
with the opposition, to supplant Mr. Jefferson, and, there- 
by, procure his own election. His genius, acknowledged 
to be of the highest order, began to form a plan to recover 
his former influence. He became a candidate for the office 
of governor of New York ; calculating on success from a 
junction of his numerous personal friends with the federal 
party in that state, who formed a respectable minority. The 
design, however, was not successful. It was defeated by 
Alexander Hamilton ; long the professional rival and politi- 



THE UNITED STATES. 227 



cal opponent of colonel Burr. The disappointed candidate 
was determined on revenge. He addressed a note to Mr. 
Hamilton ; the consequence of which was a duel, on the 12th 
of July, 1804, at Hoboken, in New Jersey: where, at the 
first fire, the latter was mortally wounded. 

During the winter, Burr conceived the project of an en- 
terprise in the west. His designs have remained in some 
degree of obscurity : but, public opinion concluded, that 
he intended either a governmental separation of the west- 
ern from the Atlantic portion of the Union ; or an invasion 
of Mexico and other Spanish provinces in the neighbour- 
hood of the United States. For this purpose, having se- 
duced to his interest some individuals of wealth and in- 
fluence, he assembled a few desperate partizans on the 
Ohio, and steered his course towards the Mississippi. But 
the vigilance of the public officers defeated his intentions. 
He was apprehended, and conveyed a prisoner to Rich- 
mond, in Virginia; the state in which his adherents had 
first collected On the 17th of August, 1807, he was 
brought to trial. Several days were consumed in the ex- 
amination of witnesses ; who proved an assembling of twen- 
ty or thirty persons on Blennerhassett's island, situated in 
the Ohio, in the preceding December : but, as it did not ap- 
pear that the conspirators had used any force against the au- 
thority of the United States, or that Burr was present at the 
meeting, he was acquitted. Indictments had been found 
against Herman Blennerhasset, and five other persons, for a 
similar offence : but, on the issue of colonel Burr's trial, the 
attorney-general declined any further proceedings. 

Alexander Hamilton, of whose valuable services the 
country was now deprived, was born in the island of St. 
Croix. His father was a descendant of an English family ; 
his mother was a native of one of the British colonies now 
comprised in the United States. At the age of sixteen, 
Mr. Hamilton emigrated to New York, and entered as a 
student of Columbia College ; where, he first manifested 
those extraordinary talents that afterwards raised him to 
public notice. Only three years were given to collegiate 
studies. He could no longer remain in the academic grove, 
when his adopted country was in danger ; and, accordingly, 
in his nineteenth year, he entered the patriot army, as cap- 
tain of artillery ; in which capacity, having distinguished 
himself in several arduous engagements, he was, at an early 
period of the war, selected by the commander-in-chief as his 
first aid-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. From 



228 



HISTORY OF 



that period, 1777, until the capture of lord Cornwallis, 
Washington and Hamilton were inseparable companions. 
At the siege of Yorktown, he led, by his own request, 
the American detachment, which, simultaneously with an 
attack made by another party from the French army, gal- 
lantly stormed one of the enemy's out-works. In the year 
1762, he was elected a member of congress from the state 
of New York , in which office, he was a distinguished lead- 
er, in all the most important measures of the session. Hav- 
ing returned to the practice of the law, he soon gained the 
foremost rank in the profession. In 1787, he was chosen 
a member of the convention which formed the new federal 
constitution. In 1798, when the French republic threat- 
ened to invade the United States, and Washington again 
yielded to his country's call in marshalling her forces, the 
appointment of Hamilton to the post of second in com- 
mand, was made an inseparable condition of his acquies- 
cence ; and, when his illustrious companion w T as removed 
from this scene of trouble, he was, in course, at the head 
of the American army. General Hamilton was killed in 
the forty-seventh year of his age. Although under the 
middle stature, he possessed a striking and manly appear- 
ance. His mental faculties were of the highest order. As 
a lawyer and an orator, a soldier, financier, and statesman, 
he was profound and eloquent ; brave, ingenuous, and up- 
right. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THEEE YEAJls' WAR. 



Berlin and Milan Decrees of Napoleon. British Orders in 
Council. Capture of American vessels. Impressment of 
American seamen. Embargo. Non-intercourse. War with 
Great Britain. 

Fro^i domestic events, it now becomes necessary to re- 
vert to the affairs of Europe ; to those vast occurrences, the 
destructive influence of which is almost hidden by their 
sublimity. For a long time after the spoliations on the com- 
merce of the United States had ceased, in consequence of 
the treaty negotiated by Mr. Jay, their shipping- interest 



THE UNITED STATES. 



229 



experienced few impediments, worthy of animadversion. 
Their merchants were enriched by the European warfare, 
beyond any previous example : their flag, for many years, 
was the only one that enjoyed the happy and enviable ad- 
vantage of neutrality. But that great national blessing was 
doomed to have a period. When, in the year 1804, the 
flames of inveterate hostility, which had been withdrawn, 
not extinguished, by the short-lived peace of Amiens, burst 
forth, and spread with unequalled fierceness ; and the feel- 
ings of Great Britain, in refusing to acknowledge the im- 
perial dignity assumed by Napoleon, were responded by all 
the royal families of Europe ; the civilized world was shak- 
en by the awful contest. Every antagonist except Britain, 
was crushed by the arms of France. Napoleon's ambition 
was bounded only by the fleets of England ; her fleets were 
supported by her commerce and manufactures ; and, to an- 
nihilate the one, it was necessary to destroy the others. 
Britain seemed contending for existence ; but, while strug- 
gling to avert her individual ruin, she affected to be the 
bulwark of the world. Flattered by this proud assumption 
of disinterested generosity, the encroachments of Napo- 
leon on neutral rights were met by corresponding obstruc 
tions ; and, when France interdicted all commerce with 
Great Britain, the latter denounced all commercial inter- 
course with France. The Berlin decree of 1806, and that 
of Milan in the succeeding year, (both issued by Napoleon, 
to prevent the American flag from trading with his enemy,) 
were followed by the British orders in council; not less ex- 
tensive than the former, in their design, and equally repug- 
nant to the established law of nations. 

France, however, had, at this period, no power upon the 
ocean. Her fleets were, by the fate of w r ar, transferred to 
her victorious rival. There, France could wage only a 
combat of decrees. She was unable to preserve a single 
cruiser, against the superior discipline of the British navy. 
It was not until the friendly vessels had reached her ports, 
after sailing from her opponent's harbours, that the con- 
fiscations were effected. The plunders, by the other belli- 
gerant, could be made at ail times ; on the ocean, or within 
her harbours. England was jealous, because America de 
layed resistance to the feeble marine of France : the latter, 
enraged, from the patience with which the neutral suffered 
the encroachments of England. Both continued their de- 
predations ; and each strove to rouse the vengeance of the 
injured against the other. 
20 



230 



HISTORY OF 



Bat there was a further cause of irritation ; arising, sole- 
ly, from the conduct of Great Britain. This was, the cus- 
tom of searching American vessels on the ocean, and im- 
pressing from them British seamen ; a custom at variance 
with the free principles of the English constitution, when 
applied to her own, and with the rights of independent na- 
tions, when practised against foreign, vessels. The seamen, 
and consequently the trade, of the United States, were af- 
fected, in a peculiar manner, by this proceeding. Using 
the same language with the native subjects of the British 
monarch ; speaking with the same provincial dialects ; re- 
sembling them in dress and in personal appearance ; it was 
impossible to distinguish, with legal certainty, the sailors 
of one country from the people of the other ; and, besides, 
the United States had always "exercised a right of natural- 
izing, after a certain length of residence, the inhabitants of 
every nation : England had long been in the practice of ex- 
tending to foreigners, who entered her naval service, a 
similar privilege ; and it was asserted, that to invade the 
deck of a ship on the common sea, was an act of hostility, 
not less than the invasion of the land to which the vessel 
belonged. 

Iqqj The climax of audacity and insult at length ar- 
rived. Hitherto, the custom of impressment had 
been confined to private vessels ; but, now, it was carried to 
the utmost point to which aggression could extend. Nation- 
al armed ships were not exempted from intrusion. Four 
seamen, deserters from the British navy, were reported to 
have entered the service of the United States, and to have 
been received on board the frigate Chesapeake, at that 
time lying in Hampton Roads, preparing for the Mediter- 
ranean. The American government having refused to per- 
mit the frigate to be searched, admiral Berkely, command- 
er of his Britannic majesty's fleet on the Halifax station, 
ordered the officers of a squadron within the capes of Vir- 
ginia to follow the American beyond the waters of the 
United States, and then procure from her, by force, if ne- 
cessary, the reputed deserters. This service was under- 
taken by captain Humphries, of the Leopard. He follow- 
ed the Chesapeake and, on the 22d of June, after demand- 
ing the deserters attacked her with a broadside. This un- 
expected occurrence so disconcerted her commander, com- 
modore Barron, that he struck his colours, and permitted 
"he four seamen to be taken, without resistance. The 



THE UNITED STATES. 231 

Leopard carried fifty guns, the Chesapeake only thirty, 
six. On board the latter, four men were killed and sixteen 
wounded : one of the impressed seamen was soon after- 
wards hanged, and another died in prison. Three of their 
number were natives of America. 

Commodore Barron was tried by a court martial, found 
guilty of neglect of duty, and suspended from command for 
the term of five years. 

The indignant feeling which arose from that tragical 
occurrence, was for a moment lessened by the succeeding 
conduct of the British government. Admiral Berkely's 
orders were immediately disavowed ; he was removed from 
the American station, and naval officers were instructed to 
respect, in future, the national armed vessels. But the 
wound inflicted upon American dignity was yet unhealed. 
Something further was demanded as an atonement. An 
apology was required, not less conspicuous than the ag- 
gression. Yet, while the offending admiral was degraded 
in one quarter, he received an appointment, of higher hon- 
our, in another : new systems of blockade were invented ; 
the catalogue of commercial articles deemed contraband 
was still more grievously enlarged. From the amplitude 
of these, and of the French imperial decrees, a general cap- 
ture of all American property afloat seemed almost inevi- 
table. Congress, therefore, on the recommendation of Mr. 
Jefferson, ordered an embargo ; prohibiting the exportation 
of every article from the United States. 

In a moment, the commerce of the American republic, 
from being, in point of extent, the second in the world, was 
reduced to a coasting trade between the individual states. 
But, though all had, in public meetings, urged the adop- 
tion of efficient measures against the belligerent parties, 
and pledged themselves to aid the general government in 
any measures calculated to avenge the honour, or, at least, 
to guard the property, of the country, yet,- many were un- 
willing to support the very laws which they had recom- 
mended. Several states declared against the embargo ; and 
individuals, throughout the whole, seized every opportuni- 
ty of infringement. Overrating their relative importance ?n 
the commercial scale of the Union, the New England charged 
the southern and the western states, which were more em- 
ployed in agricultural pursuits, with having sacrificed the 
mercantile interest, through sectional hostility ; and trad- 
ers, in every port, sought to reap a double harvest by in- 
fraction. Forgetting the solemn compact, by which tha 



232 



HISTORY OF 



interest of each state was surrendered for the benefit of all 
the former aimed only at their own gratification : unmindful 
of the sacred duty of citizens, the latter paralyzed the opera- 
tions of their own representatives, for the sordid consider- 
ation of individual gain. The opposition in the eastern 
states daily grew more violent. The restriction could not 
be enforced, there, without military coercion. The govern- 
ment, therefore, which, for many years, had sacrificed 
largely for the preservation of peace with foreigners, found 
1809 ^ expedient to observe a similar conduct at home! 
They repealed the embargo law, and substituted a 
non-intercourse with France and England. 

The 3d of March having concluded the administration 
of Thomas Jefferson, after a second election, he was suc- 
ceeded in the presidential office by James Madison. 

A ray of national prosperity shortly afterwards burst 
through the general gloom. But the renewal of commer- 
cial intercourse with England, arising from the magnani- 
mous reparation for recent injury, offered by Mr. Erskine, 
(an envoy commissioned to the United States by the liberal 
administration of Mr. Fox,) and the conciliatory tone used 
by those enlightened patriots, was, in a short time, sus- 
pended, by the refusal, on the part of their successors, now 
under the baneful influence of lord Castlereagh, to ratify 
the treaty concluded by Mr. Erskine. The insult- 
ing deportment of the succeeding negotiator, Mr. 
Jackson, heightened the resentment of the republic ; and a 
rencounter between the American and British ships of war, 
the President and the Little Belt, increased the unfriendly 
sentiments of England. 

The affairs, however, between the Leopard and Chesa- 
peake, the President and Little Belt, were, on the arrival 
of Mr. Foster from the court of London, finally adjusted. 
Provision was made by the British government, to support 
the seamen who had been disabled, together with the fami- 
lies of the unfortunate men killed or wounded by the Leo- 
pard ; and the two impressed sailors, yet remaining alive, 
were restored, on the same deck from which they had been 
unjustly taken. 

This was an important victory. But much was still to 
be accomplished. Every experiment had failed, in pro- 
curing a change of the systems practised by Great Britain 
ana France against American trade. The United States 
now proposed for their consideration, that the non-intercourse 



THE UNITED STATES. 



233 



would be discontinued, towards either of the belligerants, 
or both, as soon as they, respectively, ceased to violate the 
neutral commerce of the republic. This alternative propo- 
sition caused a line of proceeding, singularly artful on the 
part of France. It enabled her ruler to maintain a peace- 
with the United States, and involve the other power in the 
calamity of war. Napoleon's minister having informed 
general Armstrong, the American resident at Paris, that 
the decrees of Berlin and Milan were revoked, the non-in- 
tercourse, as regarded France, was, by proclamation of the 
president, withdrawn. But, Great Britain, suspecting the 
intentions of Napoleon, did not believe that the French de- 
crees were, at this period, actually annulled. Indeed, when 
it is considered, that nearly two years elapsed, before a 
copy of the document, by which the emperor asserted they 
had been repealecT, was handed to the American minister ; 
and that its date was seven months earlier than the period 
of its communication, an impartial observer cannot avoid 
declaring, that there was greater reason for suspicion than 
belief. 

1812 ^ e ^ orma l publication of that mysterious annul- 
ment, was followed by a corresponding retraction, 
on the part of England. But the measure was then too 
late. The American government had resolved, that what 
could not be obtained through a sense of justice, should 
be enforced by the aid of arms. When intelligence of the 
repeal arrived in the United States, war had commenced 
against Great Britain. The bill for this purpose was voted 
in the house of representatives by a majority of thirty mem- 
bers in a hundred and twenty-eight ; in the senate, by a 
majority of six in thirty-two ; and confirmed by the appro- 
bation of the president. 

This ultima ratio (the last appeal) was made on the 18th 
of June ; and, as the questions of search and impressment 
were still unsettled, it was thought to be the interest of the 
nation that hostilites should be continued, until after a final 
adjustment of every dispute. It had been long manifest, 
that both Great Britain and France concurred in the opin- 
ion that the spirit of the United States was not martial, 
and that the majority of the American people were under 
the influence of commerce : from which supposition, caused 
by the past forbearance of the government, they presumed 
that they would make no other than a war of plenipoten 
tiaries and- countervailing statutes. That solemn resolu 
tion was not a little hastened by a communication of an. ex 
20* 



234 



HISTORY OF 



traordinary nature, made to congress, by the president. A 
person named John Henry, more conspicuous for his ability 
than virtue, had been commissioned by sir James Craig, 
governor of Canada, to heighten the dissatisfaction of the 
eastern states, and, thereby, tempt them to withdraw from 
the federal union. His endeavours proving ineffectual, his 
mission was not acknowledged by the British ministers, nor 
his labour, in any manner, rewarded : he therefore assumed 
a new character ; and, as his friends had not remunerated 
his exertions as a spy, he sought, from his intended vic- 
tims, the wages of an informer, and obtained fifty thousand 
dollars for the disclosure. 

Some months before the declaration of hostility, congress 
were seriously engaged in preparing for the contest. Be- 
sides the ordinary militia, they voted that an addition of 
twenty-five thousand should be made to the regular land 
forces ; thus, increasing the latter to thirty-one thousand 
men : that the existing navy should be placed in a proper 
state for service, and that two hundred thousand dollars 
should be annually appropriated to its increase : a loan of 
eleven millions was authorized, and five millions were di- 
rected to be raised by the issue of notes from the treasury 
department. The duties on goods imported were in gen- 
eral doubled. Taxes were afterwards laid on certain arti- 
cles of domestic manufacture ; upon lands, houses, and 
nearly every other description of property. In using these 
resources, however, great improvidence was shown. From 
the hope entertained of a favourable issue of the negotia- 
tion, or the dread existing in the legislators of losing their 
popularity, internal taxes were not laid on until long after 
the commencement of actual warfare. The consequence 
was severely felt. The credit of the government was im- 
paired. Speculators seized the 'opportunity afforded by a 
sudden demand for money, and supplied the exhausted 
treasury by giving eighty dollars each for debentures not 
redeemable under a hundred. 

A few days after the declaration of war, the town of Bal- 
imore was seriously disturbed. Some harsh strictures on 
the conduct of government having appeared in a newspaper 
of that city, entitled the "Federal Republican," the resent- 
ment of the opposite party was shown by destroying the 
office and press of that establishment. The commotion 
excited by this outrage, had, however, in a great measure, 
subsided, and the transaction was brought before a criminal 
court for investigation. But events more alarming and 



THE UNITED STATES. 



235 



tragical shortly afterwards succeeded. On the 26th of July, 
Mr. Hanson, the leading editor of the obnoxious journal, 
who had deemed it prudent to leave the disordered city, 
returned ; accompanied by his political adherents ; amongst 
whom, was general Henry Lee, of Alexandria; an officer 
distinguished in the revolution, for his bravery in partizan 
warfare at the head of a legion of cavalry ; afterwards gov- 
ernor of Virginia, and a representative from that state in 
the congress of the federal government. Determined to 
re-commence the paper, by first printing it in Georgetown, 
in the district of Columbia, and then transmitting it to 
Baltimore for distribution, a house was, for this purpose, 
occupied in Charles street, secured against external vio- 
lence, and guarded by a party well provided for defence. 
On the 28th, papers were accordingly issued. These con- 
tained severe animadversions against the mayor, police, 
and people of Baltimore, for the depredations committed 
on the establishment in the preceding month, and were 
generally circulated throughout the city. 

In the course of the'day, it became known, that Mr. Han- 
son was in the new office in Charles street, and it was early 
whispered that the building would be assailed. A number 
of citizens, who espoused his opinions, went, therefore, to 
the house, and joined in its protection. Towards the even- 
ing, a crowd of boys collected ; who, after using opprobri- 
ous epithets to those within, began to throw stones at the 
windows ; and, about the same time, a person on the pave- 
ment, endeavouring to dissuade the youths from mischief, 
was severely wounded, by something ponderous thrown 
from the house. They were cautioned from the windows 
to desist ; but still continued to assail the place with stones. 
Two muskets were then fired from the upper story ; charg- 
ed, it was supposed, with blank cartridges, to deter them 
from further violence ; immediately, the crowd in the street 
greatly increased; the boys were displaced by men; the 
sashes of the lower windows were broken, and attempts 
made to force in the door. Muskets, in quick succession, 
were discharged from the house : some military arrived to 
disperse the- crowd ; several shots were fired in return ; and, 
at length, a doctor Gale was killed, by a shot from the office 
door. The irritation of the mob was increased. They 
planted a cannon against the house, but were restrained 
from discharging it, by the timely arrival of an additional 
military force, and an agreement that the persons in the 
house would surrender to the civil authority. Accordingly 



236 HISTORY OF 

early in the following morning, having received assurances, 
on which they thought themselves safe in relying, they 
surrendered, and were conducted to the county jail, con- 
tiguous to the city. The party consisted of about twenty 
persons ; amongst whom, were general Lee, general James 
Lingan, and Mr. Hanson. 

The mayor directed the sheriff to use every precaution 
to secure the doors of the prison, and the commander of 
the troops to employ a competent force to preserve the 
peace. In the evening, every thing bore the appearance of 
tranquillity ; and the soldiers, by the consent of that magis- 
trate, were dismissed. But, shortly after dark, a great 
crowd of disorderly persons re-assembled about the jail, and 
manifested an intention to force it open. On being ap- 
prized of this, the mayor hastened to the spot, and, with 
the aid of a few other gentlemen, for a while prevented the 
execution of the design : but they were at length overpow- 
ered, by the number and violence of the assailants. The 
mayor was carried away by force ; and the turnkey com- 
pelled to open the doors. A tragedy ensued, which can- 
not be described : it can be imagined only by those who 
are familiar with scenes of blood. General Lingan was 
killed ; eleven were beaten and mangled, with weapons of 
every description, such as stones, bludgeons, and sledge- 
hammers, and then thrown, as dead, into one pile outside 
of the door. A few of the prisoners fortunately escaped 
through the crowd : Mr. Hanson, fainting from his repeat- 
ed wounds, was carried by a gentleman (of opposite politi- 
cal sentiments) at the hazard of his own life, across the ad- 
joining river, whence, he with difficulty reached the dwell- 
ing of a friend. 

No effectual inquisition was ever made into this signal 
violation of the peace, nor punishment inflicted on the 
guilty. The leaders, on both sides, underwent trials ; but, 
owing to the inflammation of the public feelings, they were 
acquitted. 

The Indians on the western frontier were not inat- 
tentive to the hostile attitude of the British government. 
They deemed the opportunity favourable, to inv.ade the ter- 
ritories which they had, by treaty, surrendered to the Unit- 
ed States. Under the influence of a fanatic of the Shawa- 
nese tribe, who assumed the name of Prophet, brother of a 
celebrated chief. Tecumseh ; and inflamed, it must, with 
historical justice, be admitted, by the encroachments of 
some lawless citizens; the Indians inhabiting the neigh- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



237 



bourhood of the Wabash had formed a powerful combina- 
tion, and assailed the unprotected white settlers with the 
accustomed barbarities of savage warfare. To repel this 
invasion, and recover the plundered property, a furce was 
assembled in the Indiana country, consisting of regulars 
and neighbouring militia, and placed under the command 
of Mr. Harrison, governor of that district. The expedition 
was conducted with the greatest prudence, and effectually 
relieved the unhappy settlers. By the unremitting vigi- 
lance of the commander, a treacherous attack on his en- 
campment at the Tippecanoe, a branch of the Wabash 
river, (on the 7th November, 1811) was repelled, and am- 
ple vengeance inflicted, by the dispersion of the entire 
confederation. But this service was not performed without 
the loss of many valuable lives. One hundred and eighty 
American citizens were slain or wounded. Of the former, 
none were more deservedly lamented than major Davies 
and colonel Abraham Owens, of Kentucky ; men, respected 
equally for their deportment in time of peace, as for their 
conduct in the day of battle. 

Amongst the number of general officers about this time 
appointed, was William Hull ; then, governor of the Mi- 
chigan territory : who was entitled to public confidence 
from his military services during the revolution. Antici- 
pating the commencement of hostilities with Britain, the 
war department had given personal instructions to genera] 
Hull ; agreeably with which, he had proceeded for his des- 
tination to the north-west, early in the month of May ; ?.nd. 
when arrived at Dayton, a town situated on a branch of the 
Great Miami, the forces which he had collected in Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, were joined by a body of 
volunteers. These were from the latter state ; under the 
command of colonels Cass, Findley, and M' Arthur. The 
general then marched directly towards Detroit ; a strong 
military post in Michigan, eighteen miles from lake Erie. 

The object of this expedition, was the invasion of Cana- 
da. Accordingly, on the 12th of July, intelligence of the 
war with England having reached the commander, he cross- 
ed over into that province, and fixed his head-quarters at 
Sandwich. He was now distant only a few miles from 
Maiden, the strongest fortress in Upper Canada ; reputed 
to be in general guarded by about one hundred and sixty 
men. At this time, the garrison had been increased ; more, 
however, in its number than its strength : it consisted of 
Canadian militia, British regulars, and Indians; a motley 



233 



HISTORY OF 



assemblage, amounting, in all, to about one thousand. Sev- 
eral parties were detached from the American army, to 
reconnoitre the surrounding country; and inconsiderable 
skirmishes ensued, producing no immediate advantage to 
either side. But, in the end, they were beneficial to the 
enemy. Their numbers were, in the meantime, increasing : 
the spirits of the American army were suffered to cool ; 
their confidence in their leader was rapidly declining. The 
Canadians were allowed a whole month, to deliberate on 
the question of submission or resistance : during which 
interval, they ascertained the materials of the invading 
army ; that they were volunteers and militia, not regular 
soldiers; and that, whatever might be their individual 
courage, their bravery would be rendered ineffective by the 
misconduct of their commander. 

Meanwhile, a severe disaster befell the United States, 
from an invasion by the enemy. While the American 
general was losing, in vain parade, the opportunity of cap- 
turing a British post, his antagonists succeeded in gaining 
possession of Michillimackinac, by surprise. This fortress 
is situated at the entrance of the strait that connects the 
lakes Michigan and Huron, on an island; wdiere, was an- 
nually held a market ; at w T hich the Indian traders and 
merchants of Albany and Montreal convened, to exchange 
the peltries of the north for the commodities of the east ; 
and is important, as commanding the intercourse between 
those great w T aters, and a convenient passage between Can- 
ada and the United States. 

When information of this misfortune reached the Amer- 
ican camp at Sandwich, general Hull was filled with most 
gloomy anticipations. He dreaded, lest the " northern 
hive" of Indians would be poured upon his rear, and speed- 
ily envelop his entire army. Some decisive step, he saw T , 
must immediately be taken. His troops ardently wished 
to repel the ideal danger, by a victorious assault on the 
British works: but their leader resolved to avoid it, by a 
contrary movement — a retreat. On the 8th of August, he 
determined on returning to Detroit. The British general, 
Brock, was at no great distance in his rear; and, when ar- 
rived at the margin of the. adjoining strait, made several 
demonstrations of an intention to cross it, in order to be- 
siege the American fort. Either panic-struck or influenced 
by treacherous engagements, general Hull now exhibited 
strong indications of an intention to surrender that important 
post, and the whole army under his command, to the very 



THE UNITED STATES. 



239 



inferior force of the enemy. Language cannot describe 
the indignant feelings of his brave associates. When his 
intention was suspected, a plan was immediately in agita- 
tion, to deprive him of his command ; and failed only from 
the precipitation of his surrender. He had not the smallest 
reason for alarm. A regiment of the line was stationed in 
the fort : the Ohio volunteers, with a part of the Michigan 
militia, behind some pickets ; so situated, that the whole 
flank of the enemy, would, in their approach, be exposed 
to a destructive fire ; and the remainder of the latter regi- 
ment were in the upper part of the town, to resist the in- 
cursions of the Indians. Two pieces of artillery, twenty- 
four pounders, loaded with grape-shot, were placed on a com- 
manding eminence ; ready to sweep the advancing column 
of the enemy, as it approached the fort. Full confidence 
in a favourable result was felt by the American army. 
Every man expected a proud day for his country ; and each 
was anxious to contribute to the victory, by his individual 
exertion. 

On the 15th of August, when the head of the British 
column arrived within five hundred yards of the American 
lines, general Hull ordered that the whole should retreat 
into the fort, and that the twenty-four pounders should not 
be fired. Immediately, there was heard a universal burst 
of indignation. The folly was apparent, of crowding eleven 
hundred men into a work that could be fully manned by 
three hundred ; and into which, the shot and shells from 
the Canadian shore were continually falling. The order, 
however, could not be disobeyed. It was not the com- 
mander's intention that the garrison should long remain in 
danger. They were directed to stack their arms ; a white 
flag was hung out upon the walls, and a communication 
passed between the two generals, which was shortly fol- 
lowed by a capitulation. — Not an officer had been consult- 
ed. No one, except the commander, thought of a surren- 
der, until the flag was displayed ; and even the women were 
indignant at so shameful a degradation. 

The volunteers and militia, being disarmed, returned, in 
sorrow, to their respective homes ; on condition of not 
serving again during the war, unless exchanged. The 
general, and the regular troops, were sent to Quebec, as 
prisoners of war. 

But, it was not thought sufficient to give the enemy un- 
disputed possession of the fortress. The whole territory 
of Michigan was included in the capitulation. The United 



240 



HISTORY OF 



States were not deprived alone of the services of the troops 
within the fort: detachments, unconnected with the gar- 
rison, were involved in the dishonourable agreement. Cap- 
tain Brush and his party became prisoners at Fort Dear- 
borne : six hundred men under colonel Miller, and three 
hundred under colonel M' Arthur, (the former on his re- 
turn from Brownstown, where he had defeated a body of 
British and Indians,) were also obliged to ground their arms. 

On being exchanged, general Hull was arrested and 
brought to trial; charged with treason, cowardice, and neg- 
lect of duty. The court martial, not having legal juris- 
diction in treasonable matters, declined giving judgment 
on the first charge ; at the same time, stating, that they 
did not believe him guilty of treason : yet they found him 
guilty of the other charges. He was sentenced to be shot : 
but, in consideration of his revolutionary conduct, and of 
his advanced age, the court recommended him to the mercy 
of the president ; and the punishment of death was, in con- 
sequence, remitted. His name was then struck from the 
roll of officers : a substitution, less rigorous, as regards the 
law, but equally painful to every man possessing the hon- 
ourable feelings of a soldier. 

On another element, the Americans received ample con- 
solation for that afflicting disaster. Unexpected laurels 
crowned their brave defenders on the ocean. A series of 
achievements had commenced, which, in the course of this 
arduous contest, raised the naval glory of the United States 
to an elevation, scarcely surpassed by any nation in the 
world. Her fleet was few in number; at this period, only 
seven frigates, eight sloops and brigs, four schooners, and 
one corvette : yet, with this inconsiderable force, her sea- 
men courted a participation in the struggle, against the 
gigantic fleets of Britain ; which, amounting to a thousand 
vessels, were then riding triumphantly over the watery sur- 
face of the globe. 

The Constitution, captain Hull, had sailed from An- 
napolis on the 5th of July. On the 17th he was chased by 
a ship of the line and four frigates; when, by an exertion 
of able seamanship, than which, victory itself, though more 
beneficial, could not be more worthy of applause, lie es- 
caped from the unequal combat. On the 19th of August, 
he had an opportunity of trying his frigate against a sin- 
gle vessel of the enemy. This was the Guerriere ; one of 
the best, of the same class, in the British navy, and in no 
way averse to the rencounter ; as she promptly awaited 



THE UNITED STATES. 241 



her antagonist's arrival. She had, for some time, been 
searching for an American frigate ; having given a formal 
challenge to every vessel of the same description. At one 
of her mast-heads, was a flag : on which her name w T as in- 
scribed, in conspicuous letters ; and on another, the words, 
" Not The Little Belt ; 3 ' alluding to the broadsides which 
the President had fired into that sloop, before the war. — 
The Constitution being made ready for action, now ap- 
proached ; her crew giving three cheers. Both continued 
manoeuvring for three quarters of an hour: the Guerriere 
attempted to take a raking position ; and failing in this, 
soon afterwards began to pour out her broadsides, with a 
view of crippling her antagonist. From the Constitution, 
not a gun had been fired. Already, had an officer twice 
come on the quarter-deck, with information that several of 
the men had fallen at the guns. Though burning with im- 
patience, the crew silently awaited the orders of their com- 
mander. The long expected moment at length arrived. 
The vessel being brought exactly to the designed position, 
directions were given to fire broadside after broadside, in 
quick succession. Never was any scene more dreadful.— 
For fifteen minutes, the lightning of the Constitution's guns 
is a continued blaze, and their thunder roars without in- 
termission. The enemy's mizen-mast lies over her side, 
and she stands exposed to a fire that sweeps her decks. 
She becomes unmanageable ; her hull is shattered, her 
sails and rigging cut to pieces. Her main-mast and fore- 
mast fell overboard, taking with them every spar, except 
the bowsprit. — The firing now ceased, and the Guerriere 
surrendered. Her loss was fifteen killed, and sixty-three 
wounded : the Constitution had seven men killed, and seven 
wounded. The Guerriere was so much damaged, as to 
render it impossible to bring her into port: she was, there- 
fore, on the following day, blown up. The Constitution re- 
ceived so little injury, that she was, in a few hours, ready 
for another action. 

This brilliant event spread unbounded joy over the whole 
country. Captain Hull and his equally gallant officers were 
received with enthusiastic demonstrations of gratitude, 
wherever they appeared. He was presented with the free- 
dom of all the cities through which he passed to the seat 
of government, and with many valuable donations. Con 
gress voted fifteen thousand dollars to the crew r , as a ic- 
cornpense for the loss of the prize. Sailing-master Alwvn, 
who had been severely wounded, was promoted to ths rank 
21 



242 



HISTORY OF 



of lieutenant ; lieutenant Morris, who also had been wound- 
ed, to the rank of post-captain. The achievement w r as re- 
markable. Great Britain had not, in the course of thirty 
years, lost a frigate in any conflict, with a similar equality 
of force. 

Another victory, not less glorious to the American navy, 
was soon afterwards gained, by the frigate United States, 
commanded by commodore Decatur ; an officer, already 
distinguished for his skill and courage, particularly in the 
Mediterranean. On the 25th of October, the United States, 
after an action of two hours, captured, off the Western 
Isles, the British frigate Macedonian. The liberal conduct 
of the American seamen drew forth a species of praise 
from the enemy, not less grateful than that experienced 
from their friends. All the private property belonging to 
the officers and crew of the Macedonian was restored, with 
the most rigid exactness ; and they were treated with the 
greatest humanity and politeness. 

The carpenter of the United States, being amongst the 
killed, had left three small children to the care of a profli- 
gate mother. This circumstance, when known to the gen- 
erous crew, produced an act of benevolence, which deserves 
to be recorded. They instantly raised a fund amongst them- 
selves, amounting to eight hundred dollars, for the main- 
tenance and education of the unhappy orphans. 

The next naval achievement, was the capture of the brig 
Frolic, of twenty-two guns, by the Wasp ; a sloop of war 
commanded by captain Jones. The Frolic fired as she rose 
upon the water ; so that her shot was either thrown away, 
or touched the rigging of the American : the Wasp, on the 
contrary, fired as she descended ; and, thus, at every dis- 
charge, struck the hull of her antagonist. On boarding the 
British vessel, the surprise of the Americans can scarcely 
be imagined. They beheld only three officers, and the sea- 
man at the helm. The deck was slippery with blood ; pre- 
senting a 4 most awful scene of havoc and distress. The col- 
ours were still flying ; there being no one left to haul them 
down. The birth-deck was crowded w r ith the dead, the 
dying, and the wounded ; and the masts soon afterwards fell» 
covering every thing beneath, and leaving her a melan 
choly object of devastation. The loss on board the Frolic, 
was thirty killed and fifty wounded ; on board the Ameri- 
can five killed and five wounded. Neither of the vessels, 
however, arrived in the United States. They were both 
captured before evening, by a British ship of the line. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



243 



No subject of martial discipline ; not even the long dis- 
puted question, which was the most efficient, the Macedo- 
nian phalanx, or the legion of the Roman army ; ever cre- 
ated a more eager spirit of inquiry, than did the extraordi- 
nary success of the American navy. The British assigned, 
as the cause, the superior dimensions of their enemy's ves- 
sels : the Americans, the voluntary enlistment of their sea- 
men. But neither the one nor the other reason, will bear 
the test of experience. The first is erroneous ; because the 
superiority of a few guns, could not produce a continuation 
of similar results : the second is equally untrue ; being con- 
tradicted by historical evidence. During the revolution, the 
British mercenary soldiers almost invariably overthrew the 
American militia ; and, in the English navy, no difference 
has been, at any time, recorded, between the exertions of 
the impressed seamen, and the volunteer. The cause, how- 
ever, may easily be discovered. It arose, entirely, from the 
superior accuracy of the American fire ; and the point to 
which the shot was, in every instance, directed. The French 
aim their engines of destruction at the rigging ; thus, hop- 
ing to escape from a disabled enemy; the English, chief- 
ly at the deck ; but the Americans pursue a system differ- 
ent from either, and combining the advantages of both. 
They pour their unerring fury against the hull ; the shat- 
tered sides admit overwhelming torrents of the ocean, and 
the descending vessel compels the drowning enemy to strike 
his colours. 

Feats of naval prowess were not confined to the public 
ships of the United States. The exploits of private armed 
vessels, daily filled the gazettes. Privateers sailed from 
every port; to distress, or reap advantage from, the ene- 
my ; and exhibited the same superiority that was display- 
ed by the regular navy. One of the first at sea, was the 
Atlas, commanded by captain Moffit; which, with the 
Dolphin, commanded by captain Endicott, the Comet, the 
General Armstrong, and the Decatur, became particular- 
ly conspicuous. A revolutionary veteran, also, commodore 
Barney, sailed from Baltimore, in the Rossie ; and evinced, 
by a rapid series of success, that none of his early vigour 
was abated by the hand of time. Before the meeting of 
congress, in November, nearly two hundred and fifty ves- 
sels were captured from the enemy ; and more than three 
thousand prisoners. Upwards of fifty of those were armed • 
carrying nearly six hundred gun&. 

The good effect of these splendid triumphs, m promoting 



244 



HISTORY OF 



confidence, soon extended beyond the element on which 
they had been gained. A spirit was, thereby, roused on 
land ; producing a happy contrast to the previous languor 
of despondence. In the western and southern states, vol- 
unteer corps were, every where, forming, and tendering 
their services to march to any quarter of the Union. Great 
alacrity was shown in the western counties of Pennsylvania 
and Virginia; but this generous zeal was the most forcibly 
displayed in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Civil pur- 
suits were, there, forsaken, for the operations of war : pri- 
vate concerns were abandoned, for the general interest of 
the nation ; and this enthusiasm pervaded the bosoms of 
both sexes, and every age. Females, in the humblest, as well 
as in the highest, rank of life, prepared military clothing 
and knapsacks for their relations and friends. In a few 
weeks, more than four thousand volunteers were, in these 
states, ready for the field. The command of the Kentucky 
forces was assigned to general Payne ; those of Ohio were 
placed under general Tupper ; the troops of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania, respectively, under generals Crooks and Left- 
wich. General Harrison was invested with the supreme 
command in the west; and, by his subsequent exertions 
against the Indians, near the Wabash, the Miami of the 
Lakes, and other places in that distant quarter, maintained 
the confidence merited by his previous operations. 

Towards the close of the year, the American forces on 
the northern frontier were concentrated chiefly into two 
bodies: one division near Lewistown ; consisting of some 
regulars newly enlisted, and militia, under general Van 
Renssalaer of New York : the other, in the neighbourhood 
of Plattsburg and Greenbush ; under the commander-in- 
chief, general Dearborne. The former was named the 
army of the Centre ; to distinguish it from the division of 
Harrison : the latter, the army of the North. Some regu- 
lars and militia were stationed also at Black Rock, Ogdens- 
burgh, and Sacketfs Harbour. It was expected, that, be- 
fore October, every thing would be ready for a formidable 
invasion of Canada. But, from an extraordinary cause, 
there was experienced considerable disappointment. Un- 
friendly to the war, particularly to its being made offen- 
sive, the governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and 
Connecticut, refused to allow the militia of these states to 
march, under the requisition of the president. They de- 
clared, that they were, themselves, the proper judges, in 
accordance with the federal constitution ? of the necessity 



THE UNITED STATES. 



245 



which might require them in the field. Their refusal de- 
layed, for a short time, the intended movements, but did 
not depress the spirits of the troops collected. Dearborne, 
who had been appointed in consequence of his experience 
in the revolutionary war, aided by general Alexander Smyth 
of Virginia, who was considered an able tactician ; togetner 
with such officers as Pike, Boyd, and Scott ; was unremit- 
tingly engaged in drilling the undisciplined, and diffusing 
organization throughout the whole. Nearly ten thousand 
men were, at length, embodied on the northern lines, and 
skilful sea-officers were employed in forming a navy on 
lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain. 

An achievement, performed on lake Erie, by lieutenant 
Elliot, in the capture of two British vessels, the Detroit 
and Caledonia, kindled, in a high degree, the ardour of the 
forces. They demanded to be instantly led to the invasion 
of Canada. Unless gratified, some of the volunteers threat- 
ened, immediately to return home. An opportunity was 
soon given by their commander, of ascertaining, whether 
this eagerness was the spirit of the genuine soldier, or the 
puerile rashness of inexperience. General Van Renssalaer 
having resolved to attack the heights of Queenstown, made 
an attempt, at four in the morning of the 11th of Novem- 
ber, to cross the Niagara. The passage, however, could 
not then be effected. The failure rendered the troops al- 
most ungovernable ; and no time was therefore lost in pre- 
paring for a second trial. Early on the morning of the 
13th, the men were again embarked, under cover of the 
American batteries ; the force designed to storm the heights 
being divided into two columns ; one, of three hundred mi- 
litia, under colonel Van Renssalaer ; the other, of as many 
regulars, under colonel Christie ; to be followed by colonel 
Fenwick's artillery and the remainder of the army. Van 
Renssalaer, who led the advance, and directed the entire, 
having scarcely reached the shore with a hundred men, 
when he was severely wounded, the command of his party 
devolved on captain Ogilvie; who, at the head of this tri- 
fling number, drove the enemy with precipitation down the 
hill. The detachment under colonel Christie now landed 
and re-enforcements arrived from the main body of the ar- 
my. On the other hand, the British received an accession 
of force, with equal rapidity; general Brock arriving with 
six hundred regulars. A sanguinary contest ensuea. Brock's 
regiment was put to flight, by an inferior body, unde* 
Christie ; and, in the carnage, he himself with his aid-de 
21 * 



246 



HISTORY OF 



camp was slain. Thinking the victory complete, genera? 
Van Renssalaer now arrived, for the purpose of fortifying 
a camp against any future attacks, in case the enemy were 
re-enforced. But the fortune of the day was not yet de* 
cided. Joined by several hundred Indians, the British, at 
three o'clock, made another assault, and, at the point of the 
bayonet, were a second time repulsed. A third attempt 
was made ; and thrice had the Americans been victorious : 
yet, their equally brave antagonists were determined not to 
leave the field. They were soon rallied ; and hastened, a 
fourth time, to regain the disputed ground. The American 
commander was not inattentive to their approach. He re- 
passed the river, to quicken the departure of the reserve ; 
who, he perceived, were tedious in entering the boats. But 
they positively refused to embark ! The same men, that, in 
the morning, had reproved the tardy movements of their 
leader, now, with equal insubordination, opposed every en- 
treaty to assist him. Threats, supplications ; appeals to 
their honour, their patriotism, their humanity; were made 
in vain. More than twelve hundred men, under arms, stood 
on the opposite beach, as idle spectators of their associates' 
destruction. They pleaded constitutional privilege for their 
desertion : thus, using the rights of freemen as an apology 
for cowardice. 

In the meantime, the engagement was renewed, with 
mutual desperation. The American militia were soon driv- 
en off the ground ; the regular soldiers, not above three 
hundred, were left to sustain the action alone, and at length, 
overpowered by superior numbers, the whole were obliged 
to surrender prisoners of war. These, with their brave 
companions who had fallen in the contest, amounted to at 
least one thousand. 

During the embarkation, a fire had been opened from 
Fort St. George, on the Canadian shore, against the Amer- 
ican fort, Niagara; which was returned, and continued, on 
both sides, throughout the day. A battery, intrusted to 
captain M'Keon, was managed with conspicuous ability ; 
having enveloped in flames several houses, near the British 
works : and, in a few days afterwards, in the time of an- 
other tremendous engagement between the forts, in which 
major Armistead, of the United States artillery, was par- 
ticularly useful, the former officer was again equally distin- 
guished. 

On this occasion, a remarkable instance of female, bravery 
occurred. The wife of a common soldier, named Doyle, 



THE UNITED STATES. 247 



who had been taken prisoner at Queenstown, incensed to 
a high degree by the captivity of her husband, volunteered 
her service, and continued to serve red-hot shot until the 
last gun was fired ; although the shells from the enemy's 
batteries fell constantly around her. 

Van Renssalaer having resigned, the command devolved 
on general Alexander Smyth ; who announced, in a most 
vaunting manner, his resolution of immediately retrieving 
the honour of his country, by another attack on the Cana- 
dian frontier. He accounted for the late disasters, by the 
injudicious operations of his predecessor ; and invited fresh 
bands of volunteers, to partake in the glory which w T as to 
proceed from the well-directed plans of a brave and accom- 
plished leader. 

His address excited considerable animation. Before 
the end of November, he was attended by nearly five 
thousand men ; consisting of regulars, and volunteers 
from Pennsylvania, New York, and the town of Baltimore, 
These were carefully drilled, and properly equipped. A 
sufficient number of boats was in readiness to carry them, 
at once, to the scene of action. Two detachments, sent over 
in advance, by their spirited assault, (particularly that led 
by captain King,) gave a cheering presage of success. 
But this bright prospect was soon converted into a sadden- 
ing gloom. A portion of the recent unmilitary feeling, or, 
rather the entire, seemed transfused into the breast of the 
present leader : the embarkation of the main body was re- 
tarded much beyond the appointed time ; so that, when 
twelve o'clock arrived, only two thousand men had left 
the shore. At this time, the enemy had prepared to op- 
pose their landing, and general Smyth had changed his 
plan of invasion. He ordered, that the troops which were 
on their way should immediately return. Great murmur- 
ing followed this unaccountable procedure ; but it was, in 
some measure, silenced, by the assurance, that he would 
soon make another attempt. The general can scarcely be 
charged with a breach of promise : on the 29th, the entire 
body, except about two hundred, were in the boats ; the 
men conducting themselves with great order and obedience. 
Nothing was now wanting but the word to move ; when 
orders were suddenly given for the whole to disembark 
and make arrangements for going into winter-quarters ; as 
the invasion of Canada was postponed until the following 
season. > 

A loud burst of indignation assailed the vacillating lead 



248 



HISTORY OF 



er : the greater part of the militia threw down their arms, 
and returned home : much dissatisfaction was every where 
excited ; and his military reputation from that period rap- 
idly declined. 

The army of the North, stationed along the St. Lawrence, 
was, in the meantime, sufficiently energetic. But the la- 
mentable surrender of general Hull having defeated its 
principal design, the capture of Montreal, nothing of im- 
portance was effected before the ensuing year. Captain 
Forsythe and colonel Pike made bold incursions into the 
enemy's country : and general Brown, of the New York 
militia, after a sharp action of two hours, repelled a large 
body of British soldiers, who, in retaliation, had attempted 
the destruction of Ogdensburg. 

The indefatigable exertions of commodore Chauncey, in 
creating a fleet upon the northern lakes, produced most 
beneficial results. During the revolutionary war, the ope- 
rations on these inland seas extended not beyond the con- 
tests of temporary gun-boats, or inconsiderable schooners ; 
but preparations were now making, from which, arose, a 
sublimity of combat, not less interesting than the battles on 
the extended waves of the Atlantic. In the beginning of 
October, the Americans had not a single armed vessel on 
lake Erie ; and their whole force on lake Ontario was a brig 
carrying sixteen guns. The commodore began his opera- 
tions on the former in the first week of November. His 
fleet then consisted of the Oneida of sixteen guns, and five 
smaller vessels, carrying all together thirty-two guns ; 
while the British fleet carried more than a hundred ; yet, 
notwithstanding this great inequality of strength, he occa- 
sionally skirmished w T ith squadrons of the enemy ; at one 
time, causing the flight of the Royal George of twenty-six, 
and at another, capturing the Prince Regent schooner of 
eighteen guns. 

Thus, the navy had been invariably successful, and the 
army, though equally brave, when brought into action, had 
been, in almost every instance, unfortunate. The one had 
been the early favourite of the party that now opposed the 
war; the other, considered, by the ministerial adherents, 
as the only means of national defence, (excepting gun- 
boats,) worthy of attention. When congress re-assembled 
in November, the glory of the seamen was contrasted with 
the misfortunes of the army, as a fresh argument against 
the measures of the existing government. Party spirit rose 
to an alarming height ; and, as usual, the members of the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



249 



several legislatures were not less under its influence, in 
their public, than in their private situations. Mutual 
charges were made, of French control and improper sub- 
mission to the outrages of Britain. Some degree of justice 
seemed to be on the pacific side ; yet, the advocates for 
war were able to produce arguments, equally meriting at- 
tention. A proposal for an armistice, made by the govern- 
or of Canada, had been thought inadmissible ; and a simi- 
lar offer by admiral Warren, was, on the same principle, 
rejected ; but, on the other hand, the American minister at 
London had made a pacific overture, which proved abor- 
tive ; and a mediation offered to the British government, 
by the emperor of Russia, was equally ineffectual. 

Congress had not been long in session, when the public 
feelings were once more excited by most flattering news. 
The flag of another British frigate was transferred to the 
capitol, and placed amongst the former trophies of the 
American navy. This achievement was gained by the 
Constitution ; a vessel already distinguished under the 
command of captain Hull, and now bearing the flag of 
commodore Bainbridge. In October, this frigate, with the 
Hornet, captain Lawrence, sailed from New York, to effect 
a junction with the Essex, commodore Porter ; which de- 
parted about the same time from the Delaware : the whole 
intending to cruise in the Pacific Ocean, and destroy, in 
that quarter, the British fisheries and commerce. The 
junction not happening at the place appointed, commodore 
Porter passed round Cape Horn, alone ; and, in the mean- 
time, on the 29th of December, a few leagues west of St. 
Salvador, the Constitution, which had, some days before, 
separated from the Hornet, descried a British frigate. Af- 
ter a severe action, which continued about an hour, the 
enemy lay an unmanageable wreck. Having struck her 
colours, she was found to be the Java, commanded by a 
gallant officer, captain Lambert ; who was mortally wound- 
ed. Besides her own crew, of four hundred men, she had 
a hundred, designed for service in the East Indies : also, a 
number of distinguished passengers ; amongst whom, was 
general Hislop, governor of Bombay. The Constitution 
had nine killed and twenty-five wounded ; the Java, sixty 
killed; and a hundred and twenty wounded. The prize was 
in a miserable condition. It being found impossible to 
bring her into port, she was, in a few days afterwards, 
blown up. On arriving at St. Salvador, the commodore 
received the public acknowledgments of governor Hisiop 



250 



HISTORY OF 



who, in consideration of that officer's polite treatment, pre- 
sented him with an elegant sword. The private passengers 
were released, without being viewed as prisoners : those 
holding situations under their government, as well as the 
officers and crew, were liberated on parole. 
1813 ^ me ^ anc holy contrast to that gratifying incident 
was soon offered to the public mind. Fresh disas- 
ters in the west, accompanied by circumstances that rarely 
occur in the annals of history, tended greatly to check the 
national joy, for that second victory of the Constitution. 

General Harrison had fixed his head-quarters at Frank- 
iinton ; his object being to concentrate a respectable force 
at the Rapids, and, thence, proceed to the reduction of 
Detroit. In the meantime, general Winchester continued 
at Fort Defiance, with about eight hundred men ; many of 
the volunteers having returned home, after the expiration 
of the term of service. Those who remained were chiefly 
from Kentucky : the greater part ranked amongst the 
wealthiest and most distinguished citizens of the state. 
Early in the month of January, general Winchester, having 
received intimation from the inhabitants of Frenchtown, a 
village situated on the river Raisin, between the Rapids 
and Detroit, that a large body of the British and Indians 
designed to concentrate there ; and that they dreaded the 
horrors of an Indian massacre ; the sensibility of the young 
volunteers was strongly excited, and they earnestly be- 
sought the general to lead them to their defence. With 
some reluctance, and, contrary to the arrangements of the 
commander-in-chief, he yielded to their wishes. Accord- 
ingly, he sent forward a detachment, under colonels Lewis 
and Allen, with orders to wait at Presque Isle until the 
arrival of the main body. An advanced party of the enemy 
having already taken possession of Frenchtown, it was de- 
termined instantly to attack them. There followed a se- 
vere conflict. But the British were at length defeated, 
pursued by a continual charge for many miles, and entirely 
dispersed. The Americans then encamped, and remained 
in their position until the 20th ; when they were joined by 
general Winchester. His whole force was now about 
seven hundred and fifty men. Of these, six hundred were 
plr.ced within a breast- work, and the remainder encamped 
in an open field. But they were allowed only a short res- 
pite from fatigue. On the morning of the 22d, they were 
suddenly attacked by a combined force, under general 
Proctor and the Indian leaders, Split-Log and Round-Head ; 



THE UNITED STATES. 251 



and, though quickly ready for their reception, their strength 
was every moment failing. It was fruitless to contend with 
the enemy's superior numbers. In order to preserve the 
remainder of his brave party, the general surrendered them 
prisoners of war ; on condition of their being allowed to re- 
tain their private property and side arms, and of being pro- 
tected against the usual fury of the Indians. At this time, 
the killed, wounded, and missing, of the little army, amount- 
ed to more than three hundred. But the loss during the 
engagement was the least deplorable disaster. Instead of 
being guarded by the British soldiers, the prisoners were, 
with few exceptions, assigned to the charge of the Indians, 
to be marched in the army's rear, to Maiden ; and the 
greater part were murdered on the way. Those who had 
escaped the dreadful tomahawk or scalping knife, were re- 
served, by the cruel escort, for an abominable traffic. They 
were dragged from door to door through the streets of De- 
troit, and offered to the inhabitants for sale. 

The people of Detroit exhibited a degree of tenderness 
for their unfortunate countrymen, which entitles them to 
everlasting gratitude. All classes eagerly sought oppor- 
tunities of redeeming the unhappy captives. For their pur- 
chase, many parted with every thing of value. The female 
sex were particularly conspicuous for their sympathy : they 
promptly bartered what clothing they could spare ; next, 
their ear-rings, and, when nothing else remained, the blan- 
kets from their beds. Mr. Woodward, formerly a judge 
of the supreme court, was a father to the survivors. He 
remonstrated with general Proctor, in the manly tone of his 
injured country ; depicting, in appalling language, his in- 
famous behaviour. Several of the British officers, also, are 
deserving of praise : particularly, major Muir, captains 
Aiken and Curtis ; the reverend Mr. Parrow and Dr. Bowen. 

The news of this melancholy affair reached general Har- 
rison when on his march to Frenchtown with a re-enforce- 
ment. He had heard, with displeasure, the unauthorized 
movement of general Winchester : apprehending the result, 
had then ordered a detachment to push forward to his re^ 
lief: and, now, sent on a chosen body, to save any of the 
wretched party who might have escaped. But their num- 
ber was very small.: the snow, being deep, rendered it al 
most impossible for them to make their way. 

Shortly afterwards, the general erected at the Rapids a 
defence ; named by him, in honour of the governor of Ohio, 
Fort Meigs. The enemy had been, for some time past 



252 



HISTORY OF 



collecting in considerable numbers, for the purpose of be- 
sieging this place ; which, as the troops expected from 
Ohio and Kentucky had not yet arrived, was in considera- 
ble danger : but the Pennsylvania brigade, under general 
Cooks, although its term of service had expired, volunteer- 
ed for its protection. This fort is situated on a rising 
ground, a few hundred yards distant from the river ; the 
banks of which are chiefly natural meadows. With the aid 
of captains Wood and Gratiot, his two principal engineers, 
the general laboured, night and day, to strengthen its for- 
tifications : the garrison, amounting to about twelve hundred 
men, being m high spirits, and resolved to defend them- 
selves to the last extremity. — On the*first of May, the Brit- 
ish commenced a fire, with one twenty-four pounder, one 
twelve, a six pounder, and a howitzer. By these, no mate- 
rial injury was done ; though general Harrison narrowly 
escaped being killed : a ball struck a bench on which he 
was sitting, and, at another time, a man was mortally 
wounded by his side. On the 3d, an additional battery as- 
sailed the American- works, at the distance of about two 
hundred and fifty yards, furnished with a mortar ; which, 
after throwing a number of bombs, was completely silenced. 
The Indians now mounted on the trees, fired into the fort, 
and killed and wounded several of the garrison. At this 
time, the levies under general Clay, were seen approaching, 
and orders were instantly sent to this officer to detach eight 
hundred men, for the purpose of landing on the opposite 
side of the river, and destroying the enemy's batteries ; a 
sortie from the garrison being, in the meantime, projected, 
against the battery erected on the same side with the fort. 
Colonel Dudley, who was charged with the performance of 
the first service, overcame the four batteries in an instant, 
compelling their defenders to retire ; and, having executed 
his orders, commanded a retreat. But his men, elated by 
success, and eager to avenge the recent slaughter of their 
countrymen, pushed forward, with irresistible impetuosity. 
The consequence was dreadful. In a few moments, they 
were surrounded by an Indian army, three times their num- 
ber, headed by the brave Tecumseh ; a desperate fight en- 
sued, and a scene of slaughter almost as terrible as at the 
river Raisin. Only a hundred and fifty escaped : the rest 
were either killed or taken prisoners. Colonel Dudley was 
amongst the slain ; a melancholy sacrifice to rashness and 
insubordination. 

This, in some measure, disconcerted the plan of the sortie 



THE UNITED STATES. 



253 



from the fort. Yet, colonel Miller sallied out at the head 
of three hundred men, assaulted the besiegers' entire line, 
though manned by three hundred and fifty regulars and as 
many Indians, spiked the cannon of the principal batteries, 
and returned with above forty prisoners. 

Happily, this was the last occasion requiring the garrison 
to display their active bravery. The Indians, after their 
successful ambuscade, having, according to their usual cus- 
tom, returned home, notwithstanding the entreaties of Te- 
cumseh and his subordinate chieftains, general Proctor 
made instant preparations to retreat ; when, a cessation of 
hostilities taking place, arrangements were entered into for 
an exchange of prisoners, and, on the 9th of May, after an 
assault of thirteen days, the enemy withdrew. 

The termination of this siege was glorious to the defend- 
ers, and reflected lustre on the American army. It taught 
their enemies, that, in future, they must expect to meet a 
resistance different from what they had experienced from 
Hull ; and, that if they would succeed in overcoming an 
American fortress, they must previously destroy the gar- 
rison. 

Designing to organize the expected forces, general Har- 
rison returned to Franklinton. Here, a deputation from all 
the Indian tribes residing in Ohio, and some of the territo- 
ries of Indiana and Illinois, having made a tender of their 
services to follow him into Canada, their offer, after some 
deliberation, was accepted ; as, hitherto, the United States 
employed none of the friendly Indians, with the exception 
of a small band commanded by Logan, a distinguished chief, 
a nephew of Tecumseh. They were advised to remain 
neutral. But the advice could not be understood by these 
warlike people : they considered it rather as a reproach upon 
their courage, than a desire to promote their welfare ; es- 
pecially, as several inroads had been made upon their set- 
tlements by the hostile tribes : for which reason, general 
Harrison now consented to their wishes ; on condition that 
they should be merciful to their prisoners, and, in all things, 
conform to the established rules of civilized warfare. 

Our attention is next drawn to the military operations on 
the northern frontier ; where, events of a very important 
character had occurred. 

During the winter, Great Britain had sent a number of 
troops to Halifax ; for the purpose of ascending the St. Law- 
rence in the spring, and being in early readiness to aid in 
the defence of Canada. Recent victories of the allied sov- 
22 



254 



HISTORY OF 



ereigns on the European continent, by which, Napoleon's 
gigantic power was almost annihilated, had decreased her 
necessity, and, consequently, her desire, of pacification with 
the United States. A larger force could therefore be di- 
rected against her trans-atlantic enemies ; and, besides, the 
militia of her American provinces were disciplined with 
unusual care. 

By an exchange of prisoners, many valuable officers, tak 
en in the first campaign, were restored to the American 
army. The troops enlisted in the middle and northern dis- 
tricts, were marched to Sackett's Harbour and other places 
in the neighbourhood ; where, by the indefatigable industry 
of Pike, now promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, 
they were converted into efficient soldiers. 

The first interesting engagement, in that quarter, took 
place on the 21st of February ; when, the British, with 
twelve hundred men, having attacked Ogdensburg, com- 
pelled the Americans, under colonels Forsythe and Bene- 
dict, to evacuate the place. The vanquished troops, how- 
ever, had, soon afterwards, an opportunity of silencing the 
triumphs displayed by the enemy on this occasion. Lake 
Ontario was no sooner clear of ice, than a descent on the 
Canada shore was projected ; the first object of attack, being 
York, the capital of the upper province, the depot of the 
British military stores for supplying their western posts, 
and a place of great importance to the success of either 
party. The plan, chiefly suggested by general Pike, was 
highly judicious ; and, at his particular request, general 
Dearborne intrusted him with its execution. On the 27th 
of April, the troops, escorted by commodore Chauncey, 
who rendered most important assistance, reached the place 
of debarkation, at the ruins of Toronto, about ten miles 
from the town of York. Major Forsythe, and his corps of 
riflemen, were the first on shore, amidst a galling fire of 
musketry, and were in a moment engaged with the whole 
force. General Pike followed; and, afterwards, a detachment 
under major King ; consisting of the light artillery, a volun- 
teer corps, and a few riflemen, commanded by major Eus- 
tace, colonel M'Clure, and lieutenant Riddle. Placing him- 
self at the head of the first formed, general Pike ordered the 
rest to follow rapidly, and ascended the bank against a show- 
er of bullets from the grenadiers. He charged with impetu- 
osity : they were thrown into confusion, and fled. Scarcely 
was this achieved, when the bugles of Forsythe announced 
ihat he, also, had been victorious. — A fresh body of tha 



THE UNITED STATES. 



enemy's grenadiers now suddenly issued from the woods; 
making a desperate charge on major King's regiment. It 
faltered for a moment ; but immediately rallied, and drove 
the British from the field. Again, they were seen forming 
at a distance ; but re-enforcements having, by this time, land- 
ed from the fleet, they retreated from the adjacent garrison. 

The American troops were now arranged according to 
the intended order of battle. They moved forward with 
becoming ardour and veteran precision. They confided in 
their leader, and their leader placed a well-grounded confi- 
dence in them. On emerging from a wood, a twenty-four 
pounder opened from one of the enemy's batteries : but this 
was soon taken, and the column moved on to the second, 
which was abandoned on their approach. General Pike 
here ordered his men to halt; for the purpose of learning 
the strength of the garrison of York, and obtaining other 
information ; for, as the barracks appeared to be evacuated, 
he suspected a stratagem, to draw him within the reach of 
some secret force. Lieutenant Riddle was sent forward to 
ascertain the enemy's situation. Meanwhile, the heroic Pike, 
as humane as he was brave, occupied himself in removing 
a wounded British soldier from a place of danger ; and, after 
performing this act of generosity, was calmly seated on the 
stump of a tree, in conversation with another soldier who 
had been taken prisoner; when, suddenly, the air was con- 
vulsed by a tremendous explosion. The British magazine, 
at the distance of two hundred yards, near the barracks, 
had blown up. Huge stones and fragments of wood were 
rent asunder, and whirled aloft, by the exploding of five 
hundred barrels of gunpowder. Immense quantities of 
those fell in the midst of the victorious column, killing and 
wounding more than two hundred men. Amongst the 
wounded, was general Pike. But the Americans, though 
for a moment confounded, soon recovered their former or- 
der : the ranks were instantly closed, and their undaunted 
spirit was evinced by three loud huzzas. 

The wound of the gallant Pike was soon found to be 
mortal ; yet he still retained the fire and solicitude of the 
soldier and commander. " Move on, my brave fellows," 
he exclaimed, " and revenge your general." They instant- 
ly obeyed. He w T as then carried on board a vessel, and, 
shortly afterwards, gratified by the sight of the British Hag. 
On seeing the victorious trophy, his eyes, over which ap. 
proaching death had already drawn the prophetic film, for 



250 



HISTORY OF 



a moment, resumed their lustre ; and, making signs for it to 
do placed under his head, he contentedly expired. 

After a short delay, the Americans, under colonel Pearce, 
moved forward towards the town, and, on their way, were 
met by an offer of capitulation. The public stores were as- 
signed to the invaders, and all the troops surrendered pris- 
oners of war. The British loss, in men, amounted to seven 
hundred and fifty, in killed, wounded, and captured ; of the 
latter, there were fifty of the line and five hundred militia. 
The public property destroyed was immense ; and that which 
was reserved uninjured, amounted in value to at least half 
a million of dollars. 

The object of the expedition being now'fully attained, 
the American forces evacuated York on the 1st of May, 
and re-embarked : but the fleet did not leave the harbour 
until the 8th. 

An attack on Fort George, and Fort Erie, unsuccessful- 
ly attempted the year before, was the next thing to be un- 
dertaken. Accordingly, on the morning of the 28th, (a se- 
vere cannonade between the opposite batteries having oc- 
curred the day before, decidedly advantageous to the Amer- 
icans) generals Dearborne and Lewis embarked, with their 
whole force, amounting to four thousand men. The ad- 
vance, 'under colonel Scott, consisting of five hundred, was 
exposed, in approaching the shore, to incessant volleys of 
musketry, from at least twelve hundred regulars, stationed 
in a ravine ; yet, they faltered not a moment : no sooner 
were they formed on the beach, than they were led to the 
charge, and dispersed the enemy. Meanwhile, the works, 
on each side of the river, were furiously engaged. Fort 
George being in a short time rendered untenable, the Brit- 
ish laid trains to their magazines, and hastily retired. 
The American light companies took possession of the aban 
doned works ; captains Hyndman and Stockton having enter 
ed first, and extinguished the fire intended to create the ex» 
plosion. The former withdrew a match at the imminent haz- 
ard of his life. Before twelve o'clock, the whole of the for- 
tifications in that quarter were surmounted by the American 
flag * the enemy having lost, in killed and wounded, above 
two hundred and fifty men, besides six hundred prisoners , 
their antagonists, only thirty-nine killed, and a hundred and 
eight wounded. High praise was given by the commodore 
and the general to the forces under their respective orders. 
Scott and Boyd were particularly mentioned ; and much 
honour was gained by colonel M. Porter and major Arm- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



istcad of the artillery ; captain Totten of the engineers, 
and lieutenant Oliver H. Perry of the navy. Commodore 
Chauncey himself bore a distinguished part in this splen- 
did enterprise ; the judicious attack with his vessels, on the 
different batteries, having largely contributed to its suc- 
cess. 

A few days afterwards, it became known, that the enemy, 
under general Vincent, amounting to fifteen hundred men, 
had encamped on the heights at the head of Burlington 
Bay. The American commander determined to allow them 
no repose. A force, therefore, much superior in numbers, 
under Chandler and Winder, in a short time arrived with- 
in a few miles of their position ; using every means, as well 
to prevent their escape, as to guard against surprise. The 
situation of the British army was almost hopeless. To con- 
tend openly, would have been the last refuge of despair ; 
yet, what could not be gained by this alternative, might, 
notwithstanding, be accomplished by address. Their com- 
mander resolved to try the fortune of an attack in the night. 
The fires kindled by the Americans, while they guided the 
assailants to their camp, served to conceal them during 
their approach. Several of the American sentinels, owing 
to the extreme negligence of the main guard, were silently 
bayoneted by the enemy ; who, to the number of seven or 
eight hundred, passed them when asleep. The assailants 
now raised a tremendous Indian yell. The main body of 
the Americans were, by this, suddenly awoke, and, seizing 
their arms, commenced a heavy and destructive fire. An 
awful combat immediately overspread the encampment. A 
scene of confusion followed, equally distressing to the com- 
manders, and difficult of description. The soldiers of one 
party were intermingled with those of the other; the dark- 
ness of the night rendered friends undistinguishable from 
foes, and the irregular firing of the whole prevented the 
respective orders being heard. General Chandler was at 
length entangled amongst the enemy ; general Winder soon 
afterwards found himself in the same situation, and both 
were taken prisoners. Finding two pieces of artillery lim- 
bered, the British drove them off, overturned others, hastily 
retired, and, before day-light, concealed themselves with 
the main body in a wood. The Americans returned to 
Fort George ; harassed, nearly the whole way, by the In- 
dians, and their disappointment rendered still more griev- 
ous, from the capture, by an armed schooner, of n earl) all 
their camp equipage and baggage. 
22 * 



258 



HISTORY OF 



The movement of general Dearborne against the fortifi. 
cations on the Niagara, was attended with imminent dan- 
ger to Sackett's Harbour. In his absence, it experienced 
a formidable attack. Sir George Prevost having embark- 
ed, with a thousand men, on board the fleet of sir James 
Yeo, scarcely had commodore Chauncey arrived at Niaga 
ra, when the British squadron appeared off the harbour 
An alarm was immediately given. General Brown, with 
about a thousand men, of every description — seamen, ar- 
tillerists, militia, invalids, and volunteers — made the best 
preparation that the occurrence would permit. At the only 
place of landing, he hastily raised a battery and breast- 
work ; behind which, some militia and artillery were sta- 
tioned ; and the remainder of his forces, in a second line 
near the public buildings. The approach of the enemy's 
boats, did not, at firsts disturb the firmness of the militia, 
who formed the front line ; but, when they had discharged 
their muskets, they were seized with a sudden panic, and 
neither threats nor entreaties could arrest their flight. A 
sharp conflict now began, with the regulars and artillery 
under colonel Backus : who retired gradually ; taking pos- 
session of the houses and barracks, and continuing to an- 
noy the assailants from the windows. At this time, the 
hopes of the American commander revived. Ashamed of 
their panic, (to which, indeed, the bravest troops, if inex- 
perienced, are subject,) a considerable part of the militia 
had rallied near the scene of action : with these, general 
Brown marched silently through the woods, in apparent 
secresy, yet intending to be discovered. The stratagem 
was successful. Believing that his rear was in danger of 
assault, and perhaps informed that a strong re-enforcement 
to the Americans was approaching, the British commander 
ordered a retreat, and, leaving his dead and wounded on 
the field, hastily embarked. 

The attack, however, although repulsed, created con- 
siderable damage. Supposing that his friends were en- 
tirely beaten, commodore Chauncey, agreeably with a pre- 
vious arrangement, set fire to the public store-houses, and, 
before the flames were suppressed, the destruction was ex- 
tensive. 

General Dearborne, having been, for some time, labour- 
ing under a severe indisposition, now retired from service, 
assigning Fort George to the care of colonel Boyd. The 
American arms soon afterwards experienced a severe re- 
verso, by an irrational attack on a British party at La 



THE UNITED STATES. 



259 



Coose s House, about seventeen m ies from the fort; and 
on the 8th of July a general skirmish ensued, without any 
advantage remaining on either side. Losses were frequent- 
ly occurring, from the peculiar warfare of the Indians : 
Boyd, therefore, considering the forbearance, hitherto ob- 
served, in refusing the service of the friendly tribes, inju- 
rious to the army, accepted the aid of the Seneca nation 
having about four hundred warriors, under young Corn- 
planter : with a stipulation of the same nature as that en- 
tered into by the western Indians with general Harrison. 
On the last day of July, twelve hundred British landed at 
Plattsburg, destroyed the public stores, and carried off 
large quantities of private property ; interesting engage- 
ments continued between sir James Yeo and commodore 
Chauncey ; in which, the latter, though he contended with 
the utmost gallantry and skill, suffered occasional defeats. 

During the first year of the war, the Atlantic shore en- 
joyed a state of comparative peace. Early in the spring, 
however, a devastating mode of hostility began, against the 
most exposed southern states ; a distinction having been 
made between the north and south : from a belief that the 
-northern states were not only unfriendly to the war, but 
strongly inclined to separate from the Union, and return 
to their former allegiance under the king of England. On 
the 4th of February, a British squadron, consisting of two 
ships of the line, three frigates, and some shipping of in- 
ferior size, ascended the Chesapeake, destroyed the small 
vessels employed in navigating the bay, and effectually 
blockaded its entire waters. About the same time, another 
squadron, under admiral Beresford, entered the Delaware, 
and, on the 10th of April, demanded from the people in 
the village of Lewistown a supply of provisions : which 
were spiritedly refused by colonel Davis ; the officer com- 
manding at this place. The frigate Belvidera then moved 
near the village, and commenced a furious bombardment. 
But this mode of obtaining a supply was equally ineffective. 
Her fire being returned from a small battery hastily erect- 
ed on the shore, after a cannonade of twenty-four houis, 
the attempt was relinquished. Another trial, near the same 
place, in the ensuing month, met a similar opposition : the 
admiral having attempted to land a party from his barges, 
major Hunter, who was detached by colonel Davis with a 
hundred and fifty men, made so gallant a resistance 4 nai 
he compelled them to hasten to the shipping : soon aftei 
which, the squadron returned to Bermuda. 



260 



HISTORY OF 



In the meantime, scenes of the most distressing kind 
were presented in the Chesapeake. Admiral Cockburn 
was satiating his unmanly and unsoldierlike propensities, 
in a species of w r arfare, at once reflecting dishonour on the 
brave and generous character of the British navy, staining 
his own memory with indelible reproach, and imbittering, 
for ages, that antipathy, which, since the early period of 
the revolution, was still existing. Having taken possession 
of several islands in the bay, particularly Sharp's, Tilgh- 
man's, and Poplar islands, he could make an easy descent 
upon the neighbouring shores. At first, his depredations 
were confined to the farm-houses and seats of private 
gentlemen. These were plundered, their owners, in the 
rudest manner, insulted; and cattle which could not be 
removed were wantonly destroyed. This devastating hos- 
tility was, in a short time, practised on a bolder and more 
extensive scale. Frenchtown and Havre de Grace ; the one 
a village situated on Elk River, the other, a more consid- 
erable town, higher up the bay, on the Susquehanna, and 
both places of deposit for military and mercantile property, 
in its passage between Baltimore and Philadelphia ; were 
plundered, and entirely burned. Georgetown and Fred- 
ericktown, two beautiful villages on the river Sassafras, 
experienced a similar destruction. The opposition made 
by the few inhabitants and militia who hastily assembled, 
was unavailing, against five hundred well disciplined ma- 
rines. The people of Frenchtown, after firing a few shots, 
fled on the enemy's approach ; with the exception of an 
old Hibernian, named O'Neil. This heroic citizen con- 
tinued the battle, alone ; loading a piece of artillery, and 
firing it himself, until, by recoiling, it ran over his leg, and 
wounded him severely; and even then, exchanging his 
piece of ordnance for a musket/and limping away, he still 
kept up a retreating fight with the advanced column of the 
British. He was, at length, made prisoner, but, soon after- 
wards, released. — The behaviour of colonel Veazy and a 
small party at Fredericktown, was equally deserving of 
applause. Aided by a few militia, the remainder of fifty 
who had opposed the enemy on their landing, this brave 
officer continued a steady and well-directed fire, until longer 
delay would bring inevitable destruction upon themselves, 
and increased severity upon the neighbourhood. 

The arrival of admiral Warren augmented the British 
naval force in the Chesapeake, to a formidable number. 
Seven ships of the line and tw T elve frigates, with a pro- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



261 



portional attendance of smaller vessels, and a large body of 
land troops accompanied by sir Sidney Beckwith, held un- 
disturbed possession of the bay. The unguarded villages 
had already felt the unsparing hand of barbarous warfare . 
the strongest cities were now in danger of destruction. 
Baltimore, Annapolis, and Norfolk, were equally in ex- 
pectation of assault. 

Norfolk was destined as the first object of attack. The 
naval and military commanders were alike active in making 
preparations against the impending danger. Commodore 
Cassin, having received intelligence that a squadron of the 
enemy had arrived in Hampton Roads, ordered that the 
frigate Constellation should be anchored between the two 
forts, which command the approach to Norfolk ; and that 
the gun-boat flotilla, under captain Tarbell, should engage 
the foremost of the enemy. Ten thousand militia were 
already assembled in the town. The flotilla did considera- 
ble damage to one of the advancing frigates; but was soon 
under the necessity of retiring. Four days afterwards, (on 
the 22d of June,) the British were discerned approaching 
with about four thousand land troops : whom, they endea- 
voured to disembark on Craney Island, out of the reach of 
the American gun-boats. But, in avoiding one danger, 
they encountered another, more destructive. A battery, 
under the direction of lieutenant Neale, was managed with 
so much precision, that several of their boats were cut in 
two, the admiral's barge was sunk, and the whole force, 
after half their number had landed, compelled to make a 
precipitate retreat. Nor was this the only scene of their 
disappointment. A large body who had disembarked on 
the main shore, were not less ably resisted by the Virginia 
volunteers, on their crossing the narrow inlet to the west. 
Here, too, they were forced to relinquish the attempt ; 
their loss, altogether, being two hundred in killed and 
wounded, besides a number who seized the opportunity of 
deserting. The Americans lost not a single man. 

The safety of Norfolk, as well as of Gosport, Portsmouth, 
and other places, is to be attributed to the resolute defence 
of Craney Island. The conduct of lieutenant Neale and 
his equally brave companions, Shubrick, Saunders, and 
Breckenridge, was gratefully acknowledged by the inhab- 
itants ; and colonel Beaty and his officers were not less en 
titled to applause. 

Changing the mode of approach, the enemy determined 
on proceeding against Hampton ; a town, distant about 



262 



HISTORY OF 



eighteen miles from Norfolk. The fortifications of this 
place were of small importance: the garrison was weak; 
not exceeding four hundred men. Possessed of this place, 
it was thought that Norfolk would be the more easily sub- 
dued ; as its communication with the upper country would 
then be entirely interrupted. On the 25th, admiral Cock- 
burn advanced, with a number of barges, tenders, and small- 
er vessels ; throwing rockets, and firing towards the town : 
while general Beckwith landed below, at the head of two 
thousand men ; intending to march up, and gain the Amer- 
ican rear. But the admiral was so warmly received by ma- 
jor Crutchfield, the officer commanding at Hampton, who 
opened against him a few pieces of artillery, that he was 
compelled, instantly, to withdraw, and conceal his men be- 
hind a point. 

The general now appeared, and was severely galled by 
a rifle company under captain Servant, which had been 
posted in a wood. Major Crutchfield soon afterwards 
brought his infantry to their support ; but, finding himself 
unable to stand against numbers so superior, he retreated. 
The enemy were rapidly gaining ground. Captain Pryor, 
who had been left to command the battery that had opposed 
them in their landing, when the royal marines had ap- 
proached within sixty yards, and his party were in imme- 
diate danger of being captured, ordered the guns to be 
spiked ; and, charging upon the enemy, threw them into 
confusion : by which act of desperation, he effected his 
escape, without losing any of his men. Altogether, the 
Americans lost, in killed and wounded, nineteen ; the Brit- 
ish, thirty-eight. 

With painful feeling, and reluctance, we here record the 
barbarities that followed. Unwilling to perpetuate the recol- 
lection of atrocities, and, consequently, prolong the hostile 
feeling towards the British, we would pass them over in si- 
lence ; yet, a brief memorial seems imperiously required, to 
animate the exertions of every citizen against invasion at a 
future day. The troops employed in the attack on Craney 
Island, were chiefly of the vilest description ; prisoners, of 
various nations, taken from the French armies in Spain : who 
had entered the British service with a view of rewarding 
their own desertion by the plunder of their friends. No soon- 
er was the town in possession of these wretches, than leave 
was given them to satiate the worst passions of corrupted 
nature. Neither age nor sex, sickness nor decrepitude of 
years, restrained the monstrous cruelties of these barbari* 



THE UNITED STATES. 



2G3 



ans. Some justification of their enormities was offered by 
the British commander. When appealed to by general 
Taylor, sir Sidney Beckwith declared, that excesses were 
permitted in retaliation for the conduct of the Americans 
at Craney Island, in shooting at a crew of English seamen, 
who had clung to their barge when overset; nevertheless, 
that the troops had proceeded to a degree of severity, un- 
warranted, and that, on learning the extent of their enor- 
mities, he had ordered them to re-embark. The Ameri- 
cans, however, deny the existence of that ground of retalia- 
tion ; it having, after solemn inquiry, appeared, that they 
had acted with uniform humanity. 

During the remainder of the summer, the British were 
employed, chiefly, in threatening Washington, Annapolis, 
and Baltimore. Admiral Cockburn was permitted to follow 
his inclination, by moving with a large squadron to the 
south ; where he carried on, in the Carolinas and in Geor- 
gia, the same species of warfare so extensively practised by 
him in the Chesapeake. 

To this, a pleasing contrast was shown, in the deportment 
of commodore Hardy ; who commanded a squadron off the 
northern states. His conduct was brave, honourable, and 
humane : while performing his duty as a British officer, 
he did not forget the laws of established warfare : he fought 
the battles of his country ; but, with the severity of the sol- 
dier, he blended the mildness of the Christian. 

The United States now so justly estimated the value of 
their marine department, that congress, during the last 
session, authorized the building of several additional ves- 
sels. 

This confidence, arising from the success of the past, 
was not impaired by the achievements of the future. Suc- 
ceeding victories were equally splendid with the former. 
The arrival of the Hornet gave another addition to the 
long catalogue of naval triumphs. Captain Lawrence had 
been ordered to blockade a British ship of war at St. Sal- 
vador ; which vessel was formally challenged by the Hor- 
net; but, unwilling to risk the loss of a large amount of 
silver, she thought it prudent, though of superior force, to 
decline the combat. The Hornet afterwards sailed for Per- 
nambuco ; on the 4th of February, captured an English 
brig of ten guns, with above twenty thousand dollars ; then, 
sailed along the coast of Maranham, and on the 22d steered 
for Demerara. The next day captain Lawrence engaged 
a large national armed brig, the Peacock ; pouring into her 



264 



HISTORY OF 



so heavy a fire, that, in fifteen minutes, she not only sui ren- 
dered, but hoisted a signal of distress. She was cut almost 
to pieces, and had already six feet of water in her hold. 
The sea rushed impetuously through her wounds ; threat- 
ening every moment to ingulf her. A party were immedi- 
ately sent to remove her crew on board the Hornet. They 
found, that her captain had been killed, that the greater 
part of her men were either killed or wounded, and that 
she was rapidly sinking, notwithstanding all their efforts to 
keep her above the water. Her guns were now thrown over- 
board, the shot-holes stopped, w T hile a part of the Hornet's 
crew laboured strenuously to save the vanquished. But 
the utmost exertions of these generous men were unavail- 
ing: she sunk, in the midst of them; carrying down nine 
of her own men, and three of the Americans. 

Hitherto, invariable success had attended the navy ; but, 
for a while, Great Britain seemed to have regained her an- 
cient character of invincibility. Perhaps, this change was 
beneficial to the United States. A longer continuance of 
victory might have relaxed that vigorous discipline, which, 
the want of confidence, not experience, had established. 

On the 10th of April, a few days after the arrival of the 
Hornet, the Chesapeake frigate returned to Boston, from a 
four months' cruise ; when, her commander, captain Evans, 
being appointed to the New York station, she was assigned 
to captain Lawrence. About the latter end of the month, 
the British frigate Shannon, commanded by captain Broke, 
appeared off Boston Harbour, prepared for a desperate ren- 
counter ; and sent a formal challenge to captain Lawrence : 
which, unfortunately, he did not receive. He was, at this 
time, absent from the port. On arriving, he was informed, 
that a British frigate was lying off the harbour ; apparently 
inviting a combat with an American. He was pleased with 
the occasion ; as he burned w T ith impatience again to meet 
the enemy. But his spirit was more commendable than 
his prudence. He did not sufficiently inquire into the rela- 
tive condition of the vessels. The greater part of the 
Chesapeake's crew had been recently discharged ; others 
had been enlisted, and several of the officers were sick. 
Under these disadvantages, he sailed out on the first of 
June, determined to risk a battle. When he came within 
sight of the Shannon, he addressed his crew ; but found 
that they listened with no enthusiasm: some heard him with 
sullen coldness , others^ with murmurs and dissatisfaction. 
They alleged, as a reason of complaint, the non-payment of 



THE UNITED STATES. 



265 



their prize-money. For this, he immediately gave them 
tickets, and thought that they were reconciled : but he was 
mistaken ; they were, at this moment, almost in a state of 
mutiny. At length, the Chesapeake closed with the enemy, 
and gave her a broadside ; which was returned with equal 
destruction : but the Chesapeake was more unfortunate in 
the loss of officers. A second and a third broadside were 
exchanged, with the same misfortune. A hand grenade 
thrown from the Shannon, exploded in the arm-chest of the 
Chesapeake, with disastrous effect. Captain Broke, with 
great alertness, seized the moment of distress, and boarded 
the American. A scene of horrid carnage ensued. Captain 
Lawrence had been mortally wounded early in the action, 
and carried below ; exclaiming as he left the deck, " Don't 
give up the ship every officer, qualified for command, 
was either killed or severely wounded, and, of the crew, 
one-third were disabled. In twelve minutes from the com- 
mencement of the action, the ship was overcome, and her 
colours hauled down. Of the enemy, twenty-three were 
killed and fifty-six wounded. On board the Chesapeake, 
about eighty men were killed, and as many wounded ; the 
greater portion of which loss was suffered after the enemy 
had gained the deck. 

The bodies of captain Lawrence and lieutenant Ludlow, 
who, also, had been mortally wounded in the action, were 
interred by the enemy at Halifax, with every honour,— 
civil, naval, and military. A passport being obtained from 
commodore Hardy, they were afterwards brought to the 
United States, by Mr. Crownin shield of Salem, in his own 
barge, manned by twelve masters of vessels. 

Seldom did any victory create in England, amongst the 
adherents of the government, a more pleasing sensation, 
than the capture of the Chesapeake. Not even the bril- 
liant achievements of Wellington in Spain, nor of Nelson, 
on the ocean, had called forth more lively expressions of 
satisfaction; and, in accordance with this feeling, the prince 
regent conferred upon the victor, who had undoubtedly 
evinced the utmost contempt of danger, the honour of 
knighthood. 

On the 4th of August, another American vessel was cap- 
tured by the British. A sloop of war, the Argus, had the 
misfortune to be vanquished. After conveying Mr. Craw- 
ford, the United States' minister, to France, the Argus 
proceeded early in June to cruise in the English channel 
where she continued for two months, committing extensive 
23 



266 



HISTORY OF 



havoc amongst the enemy's shipping ; and causing so rnuca 
alarm, that the British merchants were unable to procure 
insurance on their vessels, navigating in that quarter, un- 
der three times the customary premium. Several ships 
of war were ordered out in search of this daring and des- 
tructive foe ; one of which at length discerned her, amidst 
the flame of a brig which she had set on fire. This was the 
Pelican ; a vessel of her own class, but said to be two guns 
superior to her in force. An action commenced, at the 
distance of musket shot ; the Pelican being to windward. 
At the first broadside, captain Aljen of the Argus fell, se- 
verely wounded ; and lieutenant Watson, also, on whom 
the command devolved, after a brave and skilful perform- 
ance of his duty for an hour and a half, was rendered unfit 
for service, and was succeeded by lieutenant Allen. In five 
minutes more, the Argus was so greatly damaged in her 
rigging, that she could no longer be manoeuvred ; and, after 
sustaining a tremendous raking fire for half an hour, she 
surrendered. 

Captain Allen, who was justly a favourite of his country, 
with midshipmen Delphy and Edwards, died in England ; 
where they were buried, with all the professional tributes 
of respect. 

America was soon afterwards consoled for the loss of the 
Argus. Victory again favoured the republic. In the follow- 
ing month, the brig Enterprise, lieutenant Burroughs, when 
a few days out of Portland, captured the Boxer ; a vessel 
rather superior in effective force. The Enterprise had only 
one killed and thirteen wounded ; but that one was the la- 
mented Burroughs. The British loss was more consider- 
able ; and amongst their slain, also, was their commander, 
captain Blythe : who was buried ^by the side of his antago- 
nist, in Portland. 

Meanwhile, extensive preparations were making on the 
land. In the west, the campaign opened with an affair, 
which, though of small importance, as affecting the chief 
object of the war, was, nevertheless, conspicuous for its 
brilliancy. This, was the remarkable defence of Fort San- 
dusky, by major Croghan ; a youth of only twenty-one years 
of age. When commanding at another post, Croghan, hav- 
ing received information that the enemy intended to invest 
the fort of Lower Sandusky, had marched hither, with 
some additional men, and been occupied, with great assidu- 
ity, in placing it in the best posture of defence. But the 
only addition that he was enabled to complete, was a ditch 



THE UNITED STATES. 



267 



around the stockade of pickets ; a species of fortification 
which encloses these hastily constructed forts, but affords 
small protection against artillery. One six pounder was his 
entire ordnance : a hundred and sixty men, regulars, and 
Pittsburg and Petersburg volunteers, the total number of 
his garrison. There seemed no likelihood of his defending 
the place. General Harrison, conceiving it impossible to 
hold it, ordered him, on the approach of the enemy, to de- 
stroy the works, and retire. But this, the heroic Croghan, 
taking the responsibility on himself, determined to disobey. * 

On the 1st of August, general Proctor appeared, with 
about five hundred regulars and seven hundred Indians, 
together with some gun-boats ; when, after making the 
most prudent arrangements to cut off the garrison's re- 
treat, he demanded a surrender. But the major refused to 
obey the summons. Finding that his companions would 
support him to the last, he retained, in presence of the 
enemy, the same courage as when expecting their arrival, 
and returned the answer of a soldier. He withstood, un- 
daunted, the whole fury of their cannon, directed against a 
single point of his defence ; strengthening it with bags of 
flour and sand : concealed his six pounder loaded with slugs 
and grape, in the bastion that covered the angle through 
which the assailants meant to enter; and, reserving his 
fire, until several hundred of their number had reached the 
ditch, commenced, with an effect, so destructive, that near- 
ly the whole were either killed or wounded. The resolu- 
tion of the assailants, seemed equal to the calm gallantry 
of the defenders. The assault was repeated, with bravery 
augmented by resistance. But those who escaped destruc- 
tion from the cannon, were met by a shower of bullets from 
the small-arms, the remainder sought shelter in the woods, 
and, the next morning, disappeared. 

This exploit called forth the admiration of every party in 
the United States. The commander, and his companions, 
captain Hunter, lieutenants Johnson, Bayley, Anthony, and 
Meeks; ensigns Ship and Duncan;* of the regular army; as 
well as all the other officers and volunteers ; were highly com- 
plimented by the general, and received the still more con- 
spicuous approbation of congress. Croghan was promoted to 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel; and to render his happiness com- 
plete, was presented with a sword by the ladies of Chillicothe. 

The utmost exertions had been making to gain the as - 
cendency on lake Erie. The completion of the naval force 



* Subsequently governor of Illinois. 



268 



HISTORY OF 



in that quarter ; a rieans so essential to check the British 
progress in the west ; was intrusted to commodore Perry, 
an officer, already mentioned in our history, who joined the 
steadiness of age with the ardour and enterprise of youth. 
He was then in his twenty-eighth year. His fleet consist- 
ed of two vessels, each of twenty guns ; two of four, one of 
three, one of two, and three of one gun each : in all, nine 
vessels, carrying fifty-six guns. The British squadron, 
which was commanded by captain Barclay, comprised one 
♦ vessel of twenty-one guns, one of seventeen, one of fifteen, 
another of ten, and two of three, guns each ; in the whole, 
six vessels, mounting sixty-nine guns. On the morning of 
the 10th of September, the enemy appeared off Put-in-Bay, 
where commodore Perry was at anchor, bearing down up- 
on the latter with a fair wind. The American squadron 
soon got under way : the engagement having commenced 
with the largest vessel in advance, became general along 
the line. The conflict was tremendous. The British fought 
with a degree of bravery worthy of their ancient fame ; the 
Americans, with resolution becoming the defenders of their 
country. The flag-ship of commodore Perry suffered dread* 
fully in the loss of men ; and was, every moment, on the 
point of sinking. He descended into a boat, and proceeded, 
amidst the hottest of the fire, to another vessel ; at the same 
time, waving his sword on high, to invigorate his men. 
Three hours, had the battle held the combatants in awful 
suspense, before the scale of victory was turned, At length, 
the laurel crown was assigned to Perry ; the triumph was 
complete ;■ — not a single vessel of the enemy escaped. 

The Americans were now masters of the lake; but they 
still felt the effects of Hull's surrender. Part of their terri- 
tory was yet in possession of the British. The next move- 
ments of general Harrison were 'against the captured for- 
tress of Detroit, and the Canadian fort at Maiden. Placing, 
at the former, a strong guard under colonel M' Arthur, on 
the 27th of September, he embarked, with his main body, 
consisting of several thousand regulars, militia, and volun- 
teers from Ohio and Kentucky ; and, passing over lake 
Erie, landed about three miles below Amherstsburg. The 
British general, Proctor, had, in the meantime, evacuated 
Detroit, and destroyed the fort and public stores of Mai- 
den ; and, joined by Tecumseh's Indians, retreated across 
the Thames. General Harrison determined on pursuing. 
On the 2d of October, he marched with thirty-five hun- 
dred of his most active troops, consisting of a few regu- 



THE UNITED STATES. 269 



lars, colonel Ball's dragoons, colonel Johnson's regiment, 
with some of governor Shelby's volunteers; and, after skir- 
mishing with the Indians, and capturing a guard with a 
large quantity of arms and ammunition, reached the place 
where the enemy had, the night before, encamped. They 
were drawn up across a narrow strip of land ; hemmed in, 
on one side, by a swamp, and, on the other, by the Thames : 
their right consisting of Indians, under Tecumseh ; posted 
in a thick wood, in the vicinity of a morass. General Har- 
rison immediately prepared for battle. His manner of at- 
tack was judicious. Knowing the dexterity of back-woods- 
men in riding through a forest, and the ease with which 
they carry rifles in that situation, he determined to sur- 
prise the regulars, by charging them with colonel John- 
son's mounted regiment ; who were, accordingly, drawn 
up in front. The horses, at first, recoiled from the enemy's 
fire ; but, soon afterwards, again getting in motion, at full 
speed, with irresistible impetuosity, broke through the op- 
posing column. In a moment, the contest was over, in the 
foremost ranks. The Americans instantly forming in their 
rear, were preparing to make another charge ; when, the 
British officers, finding it impossible to form, with suffi- 
cient rapidity, their shattered ranks, immediately surren- 
dered. Much, however, was still to be accomplished. The 
Indians were not yet disturbed. They remained, unshaken, 
at their post. The tremendous voice of Tecumseh was dis- 
tinctly heard, encouraging his warriors, who, though beset 
on every side, fought with more obstinate courage than had, 
at nny time, been witnessed in these people. But the gal- 
lantry of Johnson soon deprived them of their spirit. Rush- 
ing towards the spot where the faithful warriors clustered 
around their chief, amidst the well-aimed bullets which 
the conspicuous figure of the brave Kentuckian, from his 
uniform and white horse, attracted as he approached, he 
was discovered by Tecumseh, when covered with wounds, 
and at the moment when his horse was about to sink, from 
the loss of blood. The chief, having discharged his rifle, 
sprang forward with his tomahawk ; but, amazed by the 
appearance of his antagonist, for a moment withheld his 
blow. The interval was fatal. Leveling a pistol at his 
breast, colonel Johnson instantly brought him to the ground 
and the Indians, no longer hearing the voice of their leader, 
soon afterwards dispersed. 

The British loss in this engagement was seventy killed 
and wounded, and six hundred prisoners. The American! 
28 * 



270 



HISTORY OF 



lost, in killed and wounded, about fifty ; amongst the slain, 
was colonel Whitely, a soldier of the revolution ; who serv- 
ed, on that occasion, as a private. Shelby, the venerable 
governor of Kentucky, bore a distinguished part in the 
honours of the day. Though, in the struggle for indepen- 
dence, particularly on King's Mountain, he had, already, 
entailed a heavy debt of gratitude upon his country, he 
now, at an age approaching seventy, came forward to es- 
tablish what he had aided in acquiring. 

The Indians left a hundred and twenty on the field : but 
the fall of Tecumseh was more weakening than the loss of 
half their nation. No longer attempting to renew the war, 
they were received by the Americans as allies. — Tecumseh 
was the most formidable chief that ever raised the toma- 
hawk against the United States. Subtle, brave, eloquent, 
and liberal ; of a dignified and commanding aspect ; a form, 
at once well proportioned and majestic ; he was fitted to 
gain the affections of his people, and lead them to the most 
desperate encounters. 

Harrison now allowed the greater part of the volunteers 
to return home ; and, stationing general Cass at Detroit, 
with about a thousand men, proceeded, according to in- 
structions, with the remainder of his force, to join the army 
of the centre, at Buffalo. 

To make a serious impression on Canada, if not a total 
conquest of the province, was, again, a favourite object 
with the American government. Recent victory had in- 
creased the confidence of the administration, and revived 
the martial spirit of the people. A larger force, than at 
any former period, was collected along the northern fron- 
tier. At the head of the w T ar office, was placed general 
Armstrong ; a man of acknowledged energy and talents ; 
naturally inclined to military study ; and, by a long resi- 
dence in Europe, skilled in all the modern improvements 
in that arduous department. Dearborne was succeeded by 
general Wilkinson, from the southern district ; an officer 
supposed to possess more extensive military science than 
any other in the United States : and general Wade Hamp- 
ton, from the same quarter, distinguished, as well as Wil- 
kinson, amongst the revolutionary soldiers, was also sum- 
moned to aid in the intended enterprise. The troops col- 
lected under the former, on the Niagara frontier, amounted 
to eight thousand regulars ; independent of those shortly 
expected under Harrison. The latter assembled at Platts- 
burgh ; numbering four thousand men ; and. making a ta 



THE UNITED STATES. 271 



tal superior to any mustered since the beginning of the 
war. The Americans had the command of the water com 
munication : Fort George and the neighbouring shores were 
in their possession. General Armstrong himself, with more 
solicitude, however, than prudence, visited the army, to de- 
liver instructions for the campaign : and the ablest officers 
that the Union could afford — Brown, Scott, and Macomb ; 
Boyd, Porter, and Forsythe — accompanied the expedition. 

Montreal was destined to be the first object of attack. 
The chief place of rendezvous was Grenadier's Island ; half 
way between Sackett's Harbour and Kingston : whence, it 
was appointed that the army should embark, and proceed 
down the St. Lawrence to a convenient place for landing. 
A brilliant rencounter, which occurred on the 21st of No- 
vember, between an American regiment, under colonel 
Ripley, and a superior number of the enemy, at Chrystler's 
field, gave a happy specimen of bravery and skill, and prom- 
ised a glorious consummation of the army's hope : but, a 
letter received by the commander-in-chief, from general 
Hampton, declaring the impracticability of his co-operating 
in the original design, stopped any further prosecution of 
the campaign. The army then retired into winter-quarters 
at Frenchtown Mills. 

Opinion was much divided as to the causes of this failure, 
as well as to the party that should bear the blame. The 
dissatisfaction was in proportion to the flattering anticipa- 
tion of success : and even the government was not without 
a share of the universal censure ; for having associated two 
officers, Wilkinson and Hampton, between whom there had 
previously existed a well-known spirit of hostility. 

But the injury suffered by the United States did not end 
merely in disappointment. Failing in the extension of their 
conquests, they were deprived of their former acquisitions 
on the Canadian shore. Fort George was shortly afterwards 
abandoned. Before the middle of December, the force un- 
der general M'Clure, to whom, the charge of that fortress 
had been given, being reduced, by the departure of the 
militia, on the expiration of their term of service, to a num- 
ber insufficient for its defence ; it was evacuated and blown 
up. His retreat was preceded by an act which excited 
universal dissatisfaction throughout the United States, and 
caused severe retaliation by the enemy. Misconceiving 
his instructions, he left the handsome village of Newark in 
flames : this provoked the resentment of sir George Prevost , 
and, accordingly, Fort Niagara being surprised, owipg 



272 



HISTORY OF 



to the negligence of captain Leonard, by a party of British 
soldiers, the garrison, nearly three hundred in number, 
were, all, except about twenty, put to the sword : and, im- 
mediately the invaders began to lay waste the adjoining 
frontier ; burning Lewistown, Manchester, Youngstown, the 
Indian village of the Tuscaroras, and Buffalo. 

In the meantime, commodore Chauncey had skirmished 
with the enemy's squadron ; capturing, by unremitting 
vigilance and consummate abilities, several armed vessels, 
and forcing the remainder to keep within their harbour : 
but the inconsiderable breadth of the passage which sepa- 
rates the frontiers in the neighbourhood of the several forts, 
allowed the British to cross over in their small boats, and 
rendered his naval superiority, in that respect, unavailing. 

The impolicy of carrying on offensive war, for the 
purpose of conquering a British province, was, eve- 
ry day, more apparent. Though the army had improved 
in discipline, and individuals had acquired renown, the 
national aspect w T as becoming, on the whole, more gloomy. 
Inexperience in commissarial affairs promoted waste and 
disappointment. At one time, the soldiers were furnished 
with exuberance ; at another, they were destitute of suffi- 
cient food. Those comforts which preserve the health, 
and invigorate the spirits, of an army, were generally want- 
ing ; and, in the snowy regions of the north, the men, thus 
neglected, or made subservient to individual avarice, suf- 
fered more by sickness than the sword. The expenditure 
was, thus, three times larger than the ministerial estimates ; 
and the consumption of the regular soldiers, greater than 
could be balanced by recruiting. Militia and volunteers 
could be assembled for defence : but regulars, only, were suit- 
able for offensive war; and recruits for the regular service 
came forward with reluctance, because the name of enlisted 
soldier was held in disrepute. No expedient, however, was 
left untried, to remove the prejudice, or act on the cupidity, 
of the people. The pay w r as enlarged, immediate bounty 
offered in money, and future benefit in lands. Several 
millions of acres, were, for this purpose, surveyed, in Illi- 
nois, and a large quantity in Missouri ; of which, a hun- 
dred and sixty were to be given to each private, and a pro- 
portionate allowance to subordinate officers, on the conclu- 
sion of the war. 

In the beginning of the year, a British flag of truce ar- 
rived at Annapolis, with despatches for the American gov- 
ernment; announcing the expulsion of Napoleon's armies 



THE UNITED STATES. 



273 



from Spain, his signal defeat, about the same period, at 
Leipsic, and, that, notwithstanding the rejection of the 
Russian mediation, the prince regent of England was will- 
ing to enter on direct negotiations of peace. The presi- 
dent having frankly acceded to the proposal, it was agreed, 
that commissioners should assemble at Ghent. Henry- 
Clay, speaker of the house of representatives, and Jonathan 
Hussel, were appointed, on the part of the United States, 
to proceed to Europe ; and, with John Quincy Adams, (son 
of the ex-president Adams,) James A. Bayard, and Albert 
Gallatin, diplomatists already there, to commence the 
pleasing business of conciliation. 

Mr. Clay had filled the arduous duties of his office with 
conspicuous dignity and attention. His chair was, at his 
departure, assigned to Langdon Cheves, an eminent lawyer 
of Carolina ; who, by his talents and uniform disinterested- 
ness, gained, in that exalted station, the universal esteem 
of his country. 

After the failure of the campaign against the British 
provinces, the northern army remained in winter quarters, 
without "any material occurrence, until the latter end of 
February. General Wilkinson had submitted several plans 
of attack on the different posts in his vicinity : which, how- 
ever, did not meet the concurrence of the secretary of war ; 
who directed, that the army should be withdrawn from its 
position, to Plattsburgh, and that general Brown should 
proceed with two thousand men to Sackett's Harbour, ac- 
companied by a due proportion of field and battering artil- 
lery. On the 13th of March, general Wilkinson, at the 
head of about four thousand men, recrossed the Canadian 
lines, for the purpose of attacking La Colle's Mill : a forti- 
fied stone-house, garrisoned by about two thousand, under 
major Handcock : but, after a persevering assault, in which, 
he suffered considerable loss, he was obliged to relinquish 
the design. The unfortunate issue of this affair, combined 
with the failure of the late campaign, having brought Wil- 
kinson into disrepute, the administration suspended him 
from command, and, in his place, appointed general Izard. 
Wilkinson, however, after a minute investigation, was hon- 
ourably acquitted of every charge. 

While M'Donough was employed in forming a navy on 
lake Champlain, the indefatigable Chauncey was equally 
industrious in keeping pace with the enemy's preparations 
on lake Ontario. It was required, that every nerve should 
be exerted, in this quarter. The British were here build- 



274 



HISTORY OF 



ing a ship, of not less magnitude than a hundred and twelve 
guns ; and, as they had failed in contending with the Amer- 
ican vessels when afloat, they endeavoured, by formidable 
incursions, to destroy them on the stocks, as well as the 
naval stores, intended for their equipment. Their most 
daring attempt was made against Oswego. Here, colonel 
Mitchell commanded ; and, though, after a heavy bombard- 
ment, by a superior number of the enemy, under general 
Drummond, he was compelled to evacuate the fort, yet, by 
his provident removal of the stores, and obstinate resist- 
ance, they gained only a barren victory, with considerable 
loss of men. Their killed and wounded were at least two 
hundred. The Americans were not tedious in following 
their example. On the 29th of May, a party, under major 
Apling and captain Woolsey, having entered Sandy Creek, 
carried off a hundred and thirty seamen, together with all 
the boats and cutters in the harbour ; an enterprise severely 
felt by the British squadron ; as it lost thereby, many of its 
ablest officers, and commodore Chauncey regained the 
command of lake Ontario. 

The death of colonel Forsythe, one of the mast distin- 
guished officers in the whole army, who, at this period 
was killed in a skirmish with the enemy, was deeply la- 
mented. But an occurrence of a different kind, about the 
same time, caused a much more serious impression on the 
public mind. An American officer, colonel Campbell, 
having crossed lake Erie with five hundred men, and land- 
ed at Dover, a small Canadian village, destroyed the mills, 
together with the greater part of the private dwellings ; a 
proceeding that underwent the investigation of a military 
court : by which, it was determined, that, although the 
destruction of the mills might be justified, by the usages 
of war, on account of their having furnished the British 
troops with supplies, the damage inflicted on the dwellings 
could not pass without disapprobation. 

The eastern states did not escape, entirely, from the evils 
attending this extensive warfare. The aversion to hostili- 
ties entertained by the majority in New England, nor the 
partiality which it was supposed they felt for the British, 
in comparison with the French government, was not suffi- 
cient to protect their coasts, throughout the war, from the 
ravages of the English navy. Saybrook and Brockway's 
Ferry, Wareham and Scituate, had, in the beginning of 
April, to lament the entire destruction of their shipping. 
A part of the district of Maine, lying between Penobscot 



THE UNITED STATES. 275 



river and Passamaquoddy, as well as all the islands on the 
eastern side of the bay, were, soon afterwards, completely 
overrun by the invaders. They declared this section to be 
a portion of the British empire, and induced two-thirds of 
the people to swear allegiance to the crown of England. 
Very different, however, was their reception at Stonington. 
Its destruction was prevented by the gallantry of its inhab- 
itants ; and victory, considered by the enemy as certain 
thus changed, into the mortification of defeat. 

The American navy continued to be an interesting object 
of attention. Commodore Porter, although, on the 28th of 
March, constrained to yield the Essex at Valparaiso, suffered 
no loss of reputation. His services, before entering the Pa- 
cific Ocean, and his glorious cruise in that distant quarter, 
where twelve armed ships, carrying above a hundred guns, 
had been taken by him from the enemy, could not be erased, 
by his yielding to a superior squadron, while apparently pro 
tected by the usages of a neutral port. Nor is commodore 
Decatur the less entitled to national esteem, though, in the 
following year, on the 15th of January, the chance of war 
placed him in contact with another squadron, which, anxious 
to revive the drooping laurels of the British flag, had roused 
his indignation, by transferring the fruit of their combined 
manoeuvres to a single frigate. The confidence in these dis- 
tinguished officers underwent not the smallest diminution . 
the American navy maintained, in every action, the same su- 
periority by which its glory was acquired. The sloop of war, 
Peacock, by the capture of the brig Epervier, impressed the 
name of Warrington on the public mind ; and a vessel of 
the former class, the Wasp, (lately built,) which compelled 
the surrender, in different actions, of the Reindeer and 
Avon brigs, caused yet stronger feelings of respect for the 
memory of Blakely. His memory is all that his fellow- 
citizens can now contemplate. The Atlanta, a vessel of 
eight guns, taken off Madeira, was the last trophy gained 
by that officer. The Wasp never returned to the United 
States : no information of her fate has been received, and 
all hopes of her arrival have, long since, disappeared. This 
was a severe affliction. But, if a continuation of success 
could, in any manner, diminish the regret for the loss of so 
many valuable lives, the United States, in the ensuing 
spring, received no small degree of consolation. The Hor 
net sloop of war, commanded by captain Biddle, captured 
the English national brig, Penguin ; and the Constitution, 
under captain Stewart, overcame the united forces of the 



276 



HISTORY OF 



Cyane and the Levant ; the latter carrying eighteen guns ; 
:he former, thirty-four. 

On the northern frontier, the army not only retained its 
accustomed spirit, but emulated the high character of the 
navy, by its improvement in discipline. The battle of 
Chippewa, in which, on the 4th of July, the British com- 
mander, Riall, retreated before general Brown, was an 
achievement happily gained on the anniversary of Amer- 
ican independence ; and Niagara soon afterwards witnessed, 
that, although general Drummond, the superior of the 
vanquished leader, had determined to retrieve the misfor- 
tune of his arms, the victorious officer was able to heighten 
the brilliant character of himself and his companions, by a 
second conquest. Chippewa is remarkable in the annals 
of America : but the battle of Niagara may justly be ranked 
before all the anterior engagements of the war. The ob- 
stinacy displayed by the British soldiers, enhanced the 
merit of their enemy, but did not prevent general Riall, nor 
even the aid-de-camp of general Drummond, from gracing 
the triumph of the victors. — In these actions, generals 
Scott, Ripley, and Porter, conducted their several divisions 
in the brave and able manner insured by their previous con- 
duct : colonel Miller, with majors Hindman and Jessup, 
Leavenworth and M'Neil, though of inferior stations, were 
not less energetic in their duty; and captain Towson evinced 
the same precision in the management of his artillery, that, 
since the commencement of the contest, had rendered his 
name a familiar topic of applause. — A party of the enemy, 
who had crossed the Niagara with the design of recapturing 
general Riall, were repulsed by the firmness of major Mor- 
gan ; and a more formidable attack on Fort Erie, (retaken 
by the Americans,) in which the, whole energies of the Brit- 
ish officers were exerted, was repelled by the good conduct 
of the army under the prudent superintendence of general 
Gaines. 

But these conspicuous proofs of advancement in military 
knowledge, did not enable the Americans to enlarge the 
boundaries of their conquests, nor even to retain a footing 
on the Canadian side. The weather growing cold, and the 
season of inaction fast approaching, it was thought expe- 
dient to transport the whole army into the United States ; 
thus, terminating the third invasion of that British prov- 
ince. 

Early in June, intelligence having arrived of the com- 
plete success of the allied powers in Europe, and the con- 



THE UNITED STATES. 277 

• 

sequent dethronement of Napoleon, most serious appre- 
hensions were entertained from the exertions of Great Brit- 
ain, now directed against a single point. It was naturally 
supposed, that some place in the southern portion of the 
Union, would feel the earliest effects of her concentrated 
force. This conjecture was soon realized. Twenty-one sail 
of the line, under admiral Cochrane, arrived in the Chesa- 
peake, on the 16th of August. Another fleet from Bermuda, 
followed, under the command of admiral Malcolm. Accom- 
panying these, were several thousand land troops, the flow- 
er of lord Wellington's army, under one of his most active 
officers, general Ross. Despatching to the Potomac two 
frigates, together with some rocket and bomb vessels, in 
charge of captain Gordon, for the purpose of demolishing 
Fort Washington ; and a strong division of his fleet, with 
sir Peter Parker, to threaten Baltimore ; admiral Cochrane 
sailed with the main body up the Patuxent. The troops 
were landed at Benedict, and, on the 21st of August, 
marched to Nottingham. Thence, they pursued their 
route to Upper Marlborough ; where, they arrived at two 
o'clock in the afternoon of the following day. To this 
place, eighteen miles from Washington, commodore Bar- 
ney, after a long continuance of gallant service in these 
waters, having retreated, some time before, he now, on the 
approach of his formidable antagonist, retired, to join the 
American army in his rear ; leaving a party of marines : 
who, agreeably with his orders, accomplished the destruc- 
tion of his flotilla. 

General Ross had debarked thirty-five hundred men. 
The army destined to oppose him, was confided to general 
Winder ; who had been recently exchanged. It amount- 
ed to fifteen thousand ; of which number, about one-half 
were actually assembled, or approaching. Five hundred 
of these were infantry of the line ; a hundred and fifty, reg- 
ular dragoons : six hundred were seamen and marines ; and 
the remainder, militia, of the states of Virginia and Marv- 
land, and the District of Columbia. 

While the enemy were advancing, general Winder was 
collecting his forces at the Wood Yard, fourteen miles 
from Washington ; falling back, when he had reached Up- 
per Marlborough, to a place called the Old Fields : where, 
he encamped. At noon, on the ensuing day, he detached 
colonel Scott of the United States' thirty-sixth regiment, 
major Peter of the Georgetown artillery, and captains Da- 
vidson and Stull with their several corps, to reconnoitre 
24 



273 HISTORY OF 

the enemy, and impede them on their march. About six 
miles from the American camp, they perceived the head 
of the British column, moving directly for the capital. A 
slight skirmish ensued, and the party returned to the main 
body. The enemy advanced, and, in the evening, halted 
within three miles of general Winder. The general again 
changed his position. To avoid a battle in the night, which 
would deprive him of his great superiority in cannon, (hav- 
ing above twenty pieces, and the British not more than 
three,) he marched, about sun-set, into Washington, and 
encamped near the bridge above the navy-yard. The ene- 
my were seen from Bladensburg, about noon, on the 24th. 
General Stansbury had arrived there on the 22d, with 
thirteen hundred men from Baltimore ; followed by colonel 
Sterrett with three hundred artillery, commanded by cap- 
tains Myers and Magruder, and a light battalion of rifle- 
men, under major Pinkney : the whole, nearly exhausted, 
from the heat of the weather, and an insufficient supply of 
provisions ; during a tantalizing march ; in which, at one 
time, they were obliged to halt for orders, and at another, 
urged on with the greatest possible rapidity. General 
Stansbury took a position on the west side of the eastern 
branch of the Potomac ; being on the north of the turn- 
pike road which leads through Bladensburg to Washing- 
ton. Between his infantry and the bridge, tie stationed his 
artillery and riflemen ; with which advanced party, the ac- 
tion now commenced. In the meantime, general W T inder 
had arrived, and sanctioned the arrangement : then, riding 
back about half a mile from the bridge, he met his main 
body approaching, under general Smith of the Columbia 
militia. It was now too late, to make such a disposition of 
the whole, as might have been the most advantageous. 
Without halting more than twenty minutes after coming 
in full view. of the American front line, the enemy moved 
in column at a quick pace, through Bladensburg, to the 
bridge. Their van, led by colonel Thornton, were, for a 
moment, checked ; but, encouraged by their officers, they 
proceeded firmly to the charge, and forced their passage. 
General Ross, accompanied by admiral Cockburn, crossed 
with the main body ; and, meeting no impediment, except 
from major Peter's artillery, continued steadily along the 
road. The Baltimore artillerists and riflemen, who formed 
the front line, broke, and retreated ; when, pressing on 
Stansbury 's infantry, who formed the second, they caused 
them to participate in the confusion, and. with the former, 



THE UNITED STATES. 279 



to abandon the scene of action. Peter's guns continued to 
assail the invaders with a destructive fire : but they pushed 
forward undismayed. Smith's brigade was now on the point 
of engaging, when general Winder ordered a retreat. This 
was made in as orderly a manner as the ground would permit. 
After falling back a few hundred yards, it was perfectly form- 
ed, and ready to oppose the enemy ; but was again directed 
to retire. Immediately before this, commodore Barney, with 
his flotilla men, arrived ; also captain Miller, with the marines. 
The commodore opened a most destructive fire upon the 
enemy's front ; while Miller enfiladed their left flank. The 
first discharge from one of Barney's eighteen pounders, made 
extensive havoc, and literally cut an avenue through their 
column. They deliberated, for a moment, and then tried to 
deploy upon Miller's division. But they could not accomplish 
their design. They received so copious a discharge from 
his twelve pounders, doubly loaded with canister shot, and 
from his musketry, at the same time, that their leading pla- 
toons were thrown into confusion, and fell back upon the ad- 
vancing column. At this moment, the enemy might be re- 
garded as defeated. They would, probably, have surrendered, 
had the commodore's left been covered by a few resolute in- 
fantry ; or, by as many marines as were on the right, command- 
ed by such an officer as himself, or by another Miller. But 
this protection not being afforded, the opportunity was lost : 
general Ross succeeded in manoeuvres, which, in that case, 
he would not even have attempted. His left pushed forward 
up the hill, in front of Beall's Maryland militia ; who fled, 
without maki ng the least resistance ; the marines were charged 
in front, and simultaneously, on their flanks, by a division 
three times their number. Their commander was wounded, 
and, resigning them to captain Sevier, ordered them to retire. 
Barney's corps continued to make dreadful havoc, until 
nearly surrounded, and the British had even seized on their 
pieces : but, unable to effect any thing more, in that place, 
they joined the marines in their retreat. The commodore 
now lay bleeding on the ground, and, with captain Miller, fell 
into the hands of the enemy ; both receiving from them, in 
consideration of their distinguished gallantry, every enco- 
mium and attention. 

The marines and flotilla corps had expected to find, with- 
in a short distance, the army rallied and posted for a sec 
ond contest. But, by general Winder's order, they had 
left the field. Mr. Madison, general Armstrong, colonel 
Monroe, (afterwards president of the United States,) and 



280 



HISTORY OF 



the other chief officers of the government, were present on 
the commencement of the battle ; but, in its progress they 
judged it prudent to retire. They intimated to general 
Winder the possibility of still defending the city ; to which 
suggestion, he replied, that his army was dispersed, and 
broken down by fatigue. Thus, the fate of Washington 
was decided. General Ross, with a thousand men, slowly 
approached the city ; where he arrived at eight o'clock in 
the evening ; his horse being shot under him, by some im- 
prudent person, w T ho fired from a window. The rear came 
up afterwards, and encamped within sight of the capitol. 
The in\ iders then proceeded to burn this fine building; con- 
taining the senate-chamber and representative-hall, supreme 
court-room, congressional library, and public records. The 
treasury, war, and navy offices, shared in the conflagration. 
Every public building, except the general post-office, con- 
taining the models of ingenious patented inventions in the 
arts, was subjected to the same Vandalic torch ; in retalia- 
tion, it was declared, for the burning of York and other 
places, in Canada. Immense damage was sustained, also, 
from the burning of the stores at the navy-yard, by Ameri- 
can orders ; to prevent their falling into the hands of the 
enemy. 

General Ross remained in Washington until eight o'clock 
on the evening of the 25th. He then began his return, over 
the same road by which he had advanced. His army re- 
tired in great disorder. It did not reach Bladensburg until 
the afternoon of the 26th, distant only five miles ; nor Ben- 
edict until the evening of the 27th. It was in detachments; 
marched by different routes ; was separated by intervals of 
many miles, and preceded by a drove of sixty or seventy 
head of cattle. No impediment, however, except by the 
country people, was offered to this straggling enemy * 
though, it can hardly be doubted, that half the Amer- 
ican troops, overcome by them at Bladensburg, might, 
if resolutely commanded, have retrieved their lost honour, 
in a vigorous pursuit. Several officers of rank, and about 
a hundred and fifty non-commissioned officers and privates 
of the British army, whose wounds would not permit their 
removal, were left behind. Their loss, altogether, was 
very great. Four hundred were killed and wounded, be- 
sides five hundred more who were made prisoners, or de- 
serted. This indicated, not so much a victory, as a defeat. 
The report from the vanquished army was the reverse : 
twelve killed, and about thirty w T ounded. It is only just. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



281 



however, to mention, that a court of inquiry, held in Bal- 
timore, investigated the conduct of general Winder, and 
exonerated him from the charges which had been made, of 
insufficient alacrity. 

Captain Gordon was, in the meantime, ascending the 
Potomac. On the 27th of August, two days after the 
evacuation of the capital by general Ross, he approached 
Fort Washington, situated on the east side of the river, 
about six miles below Alexandria : when, having com- 
menced a distant fire, the officer intrusted with its defence, 
blew it up, in accordance with his instructions ; and, with- 
out returning a single 'shot, retreated with his garrison. 
The consequence of this proceeding was the capture of the 
town. One hour, only, was allowed the corporation, to re- 
ply to the terms dictated by the English squadron. All 
public and private stores were, accordingly, surrendered : 
the vessels in the harbour, fully equipped by their respec- 
tive owners ; those sunk for its security, raised, and placed 
in sailing order ; were delivered ; and the merchandise, of 
every description, including that removed since the 19th 
of the month, embarked, by the inhabitants, on board the 
surrendered ships. Sixteen thousand barrels of flour, one 
thousand hogsheads of tobacco, besides a large amount of 
wine, sugar, and cotton, were thus lost to Alexandria. 

The same good fortune did not attend captain Parker. 
Having landed with two hundred and fifty marines, in the 
neighbourhood of Moor's Fields, on the eastern shore of 
Maryland, he was opposed by colonel Reid with a hundred 
and seventy militia, supported by two pieces of artillery : 
by w r hom, after an obstinate contest, which lasted for an 
hour, he was repulsed ; himself being mortally wounded, 
and thirteen of his party left dead upon the field. 

There was only one opinion respecting the next grand ob- 
ject of attack. All anxiously ^awaited the fate of Baltimore. 
The unvaried hostile sentiments evinced towards the Brit- 
ish government, by its inhabitants ; the arrangements of 
the invading enemy ; their recent victory at Bladensburg, 
and easy acquisition of the capital ; induced most solicit- 
ous endeavours for its defence. Nor were the citizens of 
Baltimore, alone, affected by its dangerous situation. Phil- 
adelphia was moved by scarcely less fearful anticipation ; 
and New York, still further distant from the interesting 
scene, was equally industrious in guarding against an as- 
sault by land. 

Large bodies of militia, from Pennsylvania and Virginia, 
24 * 



282 



HISTORY OF 



and the interior of Maryland, assembled in Baltimore. 
Commodore Rodgers, with his marines, took charge of 
the principal batteries on the high ground, situated on the 
eastern side of the town ; the only point through which it 
was assailable by land : where, a ditch was hastily thrown 
up, and guarded by at least ten thousand men. One d*vi 
sion of this force was confided to general Winder ; another 
to general Strieker ; and the whole were under the com 
mand of general Samuel Smith ; an officer distinguished 
in the revolutionary war- by his defence of Fort Mifflin 
The approach to the city, by water, was defended by Fori 
M'Henry, (two miles from Baltimore,) garrisoned by one 
thousand men, undei major Armistead; by large vessels 
sunk in the opposite channel ; besides two temporary works 
in the rear, superintended by lieutenants* Newcomb and 
W ebster. 

On the 11th of September, admiral Cochrane appeared 
at the mouth of the Patapsco, with a fleet, of shios of wai 
and transports, amounting to fifty sail. The next morning 
at seven o'clock, general Ross, having landed five thousand 
troops near North Point, about eight miles from the city 
immediately marched forward. General Strieker, who had 
been sent out to impede his progress, with a brigade of 
three thousand, commenced a vigorous series of skirmish- 
ing. The firing had not continued long before the British 
general was killed. The command devolved on colonel 
Brooke ; who pushed towards the city, while the Ameri- 
cans gradually retired, until the evening; when, they rest- 
ed within half a mile of their intrenchments. The enemy 
suffered heavily. Their loss in killed and wounded, was at 
least three hundred. The American loss was comparative- 
ly small : about a hundred and sixty. On the following 
morning, the British were seen at a distance of only two 
miles in front of the lines ; and, shortly afterwards, they 
moved towards the right, as if desirous of entering by the 
York and Hartford roads : in which intention, having been 
frustrated by skilful manoeuvres, they advanced within one 
mile, apparently with a design of assaulting the works, in 
front. 

Meanwhile, Fort M'Henry was furiously assailed. At 
sun-rise, the British admiral, having brought sixteen ships 
within two miles and a half of this important defence, be- 
gan the assault with five bomb vessels, still further in ad- 
vance. At this time, the fort remained entirely silent. The 
enemy were not within the range of the American guns 



THE UNITED STATES. 2S3 



But, when they moved yet nearer, major Armistead opened 
a tremendous fire, which compelled them to resume their 
former position. When it became dark, they attempted 
to land some troops, by ascending the river towards Spring 
Garden : but, though they had passed the outer works, un 
noticed, they were discovered by the smaller forts in the 
rear, and obliged to withdraw ; after losing one of their 
barges, with all that were on board. 

When colonel Brooke's movements showed a design of 
forcing the intrenchments, general Smith prudently station 
ed Winder and Strieker on the left, to assail the enemy on 
their right, and on their rear, if they seriously attempted 
the assault. This, perhaps, changed the intention of the 
British land troops : the admirable defence made by Fort 
M'Henry caused them to await the issue of the bombard- 
ment, and, at the same time, determined the marine to de- 
cline the contest. The capture of Baltimore was abandon- 
ed. In the course of the night, admiral Cochrane held a 
conference with colonel Brooke, the land forces retreated 
towards their boats, and, the next morning, returned on 
board their ships.* 

High praise is due to the defenders of Baltimore, par- 
ticularly to those stationed at the fort. A bombardment, 
that, during twenty-five hours, had expended fifteen hun- 
dred shells, a large portion of which burst over their heads, 
and a great number within the works, scattering fragments 
in every direction, and seriously damaging several of the 
buildings, demanded considerable firmness ; though the 
personal injury, the killed being only four, and the wounded 
twenty, was less than might have been expected from its 
magnitude. 

But it required the brilliant victory on lake Champlam, 
and the equally splendid defence of Plattsburg, to remove 
the unfavourable impression made on the negotiations in 
Europe, by the unfortunate surrender of the capital. Com 
modore M'Donough, by the defeat of the British squadron 
under captain Downie ; and general Macomb, by the re- 
pulse of the army under sir George Prevost ; (two achieve- 
ments which occurred simultaneously, and at the same 
place, on the 11th of September;) have gained imperish- 
able honour to themselves and their brave companions. 



* Admiral Cochrane is an uncle of the gallant naval officer and distin- 
guished patriot, lord Cochrane ; and a brother of the earl of DundonaM, 
a scientific nobleman of Scotland. 



284 HISTORY OF 

The American squadron on lake Champlain, consisted of 
fourteen vessels, carrying eighty-six guns and eight hun- 
dred and twenty-six men ; the British, of seventeen vessels 
with ninety-five guns and one thousand and fifty men. Of 
these, one frigate, one brig, and two sloops, were captured, 
some were sunk, and others escaped ; eighty-four men were 
killed, one hundred and ten wounded, and eight hundred 
and fifty-six made prisoners. — General Prevost, with seve- 
ral thousand men, endeavoured to cross the river Saranac in 
three several places and storm the forts at Plattsburg, 
defended by an inconsiderable force, principally militia ; 
but was repulsed in every attempt. The British army lost 
in killed and wounded, and by desertion, above two thou- 
sand ; the American, in killed and wounded, a hundred and 
twenty-one. 

It might rationally have been supposed, that the w r ar 
would, before this period, have ceased. Sufficient evidence 
had been offered to the enemy, that no serious impression 
could be made on the United States. The pacification of 
Europe had withdrawn the immediate causes of dispute, 
and the American commissioners had been directed to al- 
low the subject of impressment to remain unsettled. But 
the English government were not equally desirous of peace. 
They proposed, as an essential requisite to obtain this 
great blessing, a most insulting relinquishment ; — not less 
than a surrender of a large portion of territory, and the to- 
tal abandonment of the coast along the lakes. 

Early in September, it became known, that the enemy 
were preparing to make a formidable invasion of Louisiana. 
Governor Claiborne ordered the two divisions of the militia 
of that state ; the first, under general Villere, and the sec- 
ond, under general Thomas ; to -hold themselves in readi- 
ness to march at a moment's warning: and sent forth an 
animating address, calling on the inhabitants to rise, for 
the defence of their families and homes. But the majority 
of the planters, there, at least of French extraction, had 
felt little interest in the war: the militia, therefore, were 
scarcely organized, instead of being disciplined and armed. 
Nothing short of actual invasion could rouse them, in the 
country. In the city, the case was different. Every man, 
that could carry arms, had, in New Orleans, become a sol- 
dier. The free people of colour, too, a numerous class, 
were permitted to form volunteer companies, and join the 
white citizens in the momentous duty of protection. 



THE UNITED STATES. 295 



Rut the chief safety of the inhabitants was in the nature 
of their country. It was exceedingly difficult of access, by 
sea. In front, was a shallow coast ; and the principal en- 
trance, a river; which, after crossing the bar, is narrow 
deep, and rapid, and of a course so winding, as to render 
it easily susceptible of being fortified. On the west are 
impassable swamps ; and, on the east, the low, marshy 
coast, can be approached only through a shallow lake 
Gun-boats, the most appropriate means of annoyance, had, 
notwithstanding, been neglected. As regarded men, arms, 
and military works, Louisiana was in a most defenceless 
situation : the legislature had been convened; but, instead 
of actively providing for the public safety, its time was 
wasted in discussion. 

When danger suddenly approaches, the energetic mind 
of an individual may be of greater service, than the com- 
bined wisdom of a senate. The formalities of law are ill suit- 
ed to expel an enemy, when at our very doors. Happily for 
New Orleans, the commander of the district, general Jack- 
son, arrived there, on the 2d of December, from Mobile ; 
to which place, he had returned, after performing an im- 
portant military service at Pensacola, and, at an earlier pe* 
riod of the war, rendering himself conspicuous, by the al- 
most total annihilation of the Creek Indians. His presence 
was instantly felt, in the confidence which it inspired, and 
in the unanimity with which the people seconded his prompt 
arrangements. He visited, according to his invariable cus- 
tom, every point where it might be necessary to erect 
works to oppose the enemy. He directed that all the in- 
lets from the Attakappas to the Manchack, should be ob- 
structed ; that the banks of the Mississippi should be for- 
tified, and a battery erected on the Chef Monteur. He 
stationed about a thousand regulars in the city ; which 
troops, together with the Tennessee militia, under generals 
Coffee and Carroll, he distributed at the most vulnerable 
points. 

Three days had not elapsed, after the arrival of general 
Jackson, when intelligence was received, that the British 
fleet, consisting of at least sixty sail, was off the coast, to 
the east of the Mississippi. Commodore Patterson imme- 
diately despatched some gun-boats, to watch their motions ; 
but, on the 14th, this little squadron was captured by a su- 
perior force ; not, however, without having made a spirited 
resistance. This misfortune enabled the enemy to choose 
their place of landing, and, at the same time, prevented 



286 



HISTORY OF 



the Americans from gaining information. But the general 
neglected no means of guarding the several land-passes. He 
stationed troops below the town, at every place where an 
entry was considered practicable ; and, to cause the utmost 
vigour in every department, immediately proclaimed mar- 
tial law. 

All the principal bayous or inlets, communicating with 
lake Ponchartrain, as well as the narrow strip of land on the 
border of the Mississippi, had been secured. There was, 
however, a communication with lake Borgne, called the 
Bayou Bienvenu, little known, and used only by fishermen, 
its head near the plantation of general Villere, seven miles 
below the city. Guided by some traitors, the enemy, on the 
22d, came suddenly on the American guard, through that 
secret passage, and made them prisoners ; one of their divi- 
sions, under general Keane, at four o'clock in the morning, 
reached the commencement of Villere's canal, having dis- 
embarked and rested a few hours, proceeded through the 
cane-brake, and, at two in the afternoon, arrived on the 
bank of the river. The alarm being given, general Jack- 
son resolved immediately to attack him. In four hours, 
the American corps were united on Rodrigues' canal, six 
miles below the city. The whole did not then exceed two 
thousand. The British force, at this time, amounted to 
three thousand ; but, convinced that the most arduous part 
of the enterprise was achieved, instead of marching direct- 
ly towards the city, they had encamped, and were prepar- 
ing their evening repast. They were soon made sensible of 
their error. Never were any troops more suddenly disturb- 
ed. The first intimation of the Americans' approach, was 
a raking broadside from commodore Patterson's schooner, 
the Caroline ; the fires enabling him to take deliberate aim. 
Coffee's division impetuously rushed upon their right, while 
Jackson's, with equal rapidity, advanced against their front. 
Though surprised, and several hundreds killed and wound- 
ed, they were not yet defeated : extinguishing their fires, 
they came boldly forward into action. The fighting, how- 
ever, soon afterwards ceased. A thick fog having produced 
some confusion in the American troops, Jackson prudently 
called them ofl, lay on the field until morning, and then 
took a position on the other side of the canal. His loss 
was twenty-four killed, and about two hundred wounded and 
prisoners : that of the British, about four hundred. 

The American general lost no time in fortifying his post. 
This was effected by a simple breast- work, from the river 



THE UNITED STATES. 



287 



to the swamp, with a ditch in front ; cotton bales, of a 
square form, being used, as the cheeks of the embrasures. 
Meanwhile, the enemy having blown up the Caroline, which 
was previously abandoned by her crew, their commander- 
in-chief, sir Edward Packenham, landed the main body of 
his army ; on the 28th, advanced up the levee, with the in- 
tention of driving Jackson from his intrenchments, and, at 
the distance of half a mile, began the attack on the unfin- 
ished works, with Congreve rockets and a heavy cannonade. 
But they were a second time repulsed. A fresh American 
schooner having been brought up, caused great havoc 
amongst their columns : the fire from the batteries was not 
less destructive ; and, after an obstinate struggle of seven 
hours, the British general retired. The Americans at this 
time, lost fifteen in killed and wounded ; the enemy, consid- 
erably more. 

1815 ^ n ^ e * st °^ J anuai 79 * ae invaders made another 
attempt to force general Jackson's fortifications. 
They had, in the night, erected a battery, and, early in the 
morning, opened a brisk cannonade ; making, at the same 
time, two bold efforts to turn his left wing : but they were 
a third time repulsed, with the loss of about seventy men. 

On the 4th, general Jackson received an increase of twen- 
ty-five hundred militia, from Kentucky, under generals 
Thomas and Adair ; and on the 6th, the British were re-en- 
forced by the arrival of general Lambert. Their w r hole 
number w T as now fourteen thousand. General Jackson com- 
manded about six thousand. An interesting moment was 
approaching. Serious preparations were commenced, for 
storming the American works, now strengthened by addi< 
tional batteries, and by additional small-arms. The lines, 
on the right bank, were intrusted to general Morgan ; with 
the Louisiana, and detachments of New Orleans and Ken- 
tucky, militia. The works on the left bank, covering the 
main body, were occupied by general Jackson himself; w r ith 
the Tennessee forces, under generals Coffee and Carroll ; 
also, a part of the Kentucky and New Orleans militia ; the 
seventh and forty-fourth regiments of United States' infan- 
try ; with corps of active sailors and marines. Here, the 
intrenchments extended about a thousand yards, Detween 
the river and the swamp : strengthened, on the flanks, by 
batteries ; and, in front, by a wet ditch, having about four 
feet depth of water. 

Early in the morning of the 8th of January, the British 
columns moved forward, at the same time, against the right 



289 



HISTORY OF 



and left of the American batteries. They approached with 
a determined countenance, with their muskets shouldered, 
accompanied by detachments carrying fascines and ladders. 
The former were designed to fill up the ditches in front ; 
and with the latter they intended to mount the ramparts. 
The American artillery opened a tremendous fire, at the 
distance of nine hundred yards, and mowed them down with 
terrible slaughter. But they still moved on with a firm 
step ; invariably supplying the place of the fallen, with fresh 
troops. At length, they came within reach of the Amer- 
ican small-arms. The whole of Jackson's line was now en- 
veloped in flames. The cannon thundered from every bat- 
tery : the rifles were leveled with deadly aim ; grape-shot 
and shells were scattered as thick as hail-stones, over the 
plain. The enemy's columns faltered, but were, in a mo- 
ment, pressed forward by their officers. But all their ef- 
forts succeeded only in leading their veteran soldiers to de- 
struction : the men shrunk from a contest, in which they 
saw nothing but immediate slaughter. The columns broke, 
and retreated in confusion. A few pushed boldly forward ; 
dropping half their men in the desperate adventure. Some 
of the head platoons, led by colonel Renee, leaped the ditch, 
and clambered up the rampart : but, scarcely had they 
reached the paiapet, and raised a shout, when the whole, 
with a single exception, were brought down, and their dead 
bodies tumbled into the ditch. The repulse was now uni- 
versal. A second effort was notwithstanding tried. Col- 
lecting all their courage, and animated by rage and disap- 
pointment, the invaders made another furious assault. But 
it was with the same result : every exertion to reach the in- 
trenchments was ineffectual. 

On the right bank, however, the enemy had gained the 
advantage. By some unaccountable misconduct of the 
troops, who had, on other occasions, displayed great intre- 
pidity, a detachment, conducted across the river in boats, 
by colonel Thornton, obtained possession of the batteries. 
But, as soon as the fate of his companions, on the left bank, 
was known, the conquest was abandoned. 

The loss of the British army, on this memorable day, was 
seven hundred killed, fourteen hundred wounded, and five 
hundred captured. That of the Americans, on the left bank 
of the Mississippi, was not more than six killed, and nine 
wounded : on both banks, it was thirteen killed, thirty-nine 
wounded, and nineteen missing. The invaders had to re- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



289 



gret the death of many experienced and gallant officers. 
General Packenham, a brother-in-law of lord Wellington, 
fell early in the engagement. Generals Keane and Gibbs, 
who, as well as Packenham, had distinguished themselves 
against the French in Spain, were dangerously wounded. 
Keane survived only a few days ; the command having, in 
*he interim, devolved on general Lambert. 



CHAPTER XII. 

PEACE OF GHENT. 

Banks. The Army and Navy. 

Thf splendid preservation of New Orleans is the last 
military subject, material for us to notice. The defeat of 
the British before Plattsburg, having given a new turn to 
the negotiation, a treaty of peace was signed at Ghent on 
the 24th of December, in the preceding year, 1814, ratified 
by the prince regent of England on the 28th, and by the 
president of the United States, with the approbation of the 
senate, on the last day of February, 1815. Both nations 
agreed to restore their respective conquests, to appoint com- 
missioners for settling disputed boundaries, and pledged 
themselves to use their utmost endeavours towards the en- 
tire abolition of the slave trade. No allusion was made to 
the causes of the war. Security against their recurrence, 
rests, however, on a much firmer basis than the provisions 
of the most solemn treaty. Britain has been taught to ap- 
preciate the strength of the republic. She will read, in the 
history of the late struggle, the most convincing arguments 
against the invasion of neutral rights. 

Hostilities had continued two years and eight months ; 
but, for the purpose of distinction, the contest will be Known 
as the Three Years' War. It increased the public debt a 
hundred millions of dollars, and made the whole arrears 
about a hundred and fifty millions ; a sum that can, in a few 
years, be discharged, by the ordinary revenue. But the 
germ of a lasting evil was created, in the nearly universal 
25 



290 



HISTORY OF 



failure of the banks. So largely, had they speculated in 
the national funds, (except the banks of the eastern states, 
which were restrained by prudence, and aversion to the 
war,) that, in the autumn of 1814, not a single institution, 
south of New England, could redeem its notes. The west- 
ern states felt a similar embarrassment. The national bank 
had ceased to exist, on the expiration of its charter. The 
notes of all that were not able to pay their engagements in 
metallic coin, depreciated from twenty to thirty per cent. 
Mercantile failures were alarming. The fiscal operations 
of the government were almost suspended. Opportunities 
of fraud were every day increasing. Designing individuals, 
who possessed not any capital, nor any credit, unless at a 
distance from their habitations, spread innumerable banks 
throughout the country, got into their hands immense sums 
of money, by discounting promissory notes, and employing 
agents for the circulation of their paper; and, sanctioned by 
the situation of the more respectable establishments, amass- 
ed fortunes, by the issuing of bills, upon which they allow- 
ed no interest against themselves, while they were charging 
the accustomed interest to others. Patriotism can not be 
adduced to extenuate the injury done by those enormous 
subscriptions to the public loans. Except the magnani- 
mous aid given to the old congress, by the Bank of North 
America, at Philadelphia, history furnishes no evidence of 
disinterested assistance, on the part of any body, formed, 
as are all similar companies, upon the narrow basis of 
private benefit. 

The peace establishment of the regular army was fixed 
at ten thousand men. The militia, however, assembles 
monthly, and includes, with a few exceptions, every citizen 
of vigorous age. The naval power, as regarded the larger 
vessels, was not diminished ; but,- on the contrary, was al- 
lowed gradually to augment. On the Atlantic service, there 
were now afloat, one ship of seventy-four guns, seven frig- 
ates, nine sloops of war, and fourteen schooners : on the 
lakes, were twenty-nine vessels, carrying three hundred and 
sixty guns ; making the whole naval force, including gun- 
boats, two hundred and seventy-four vessels, with fifteen 
hundred guns. 

In 1791, the national mint was established at Philadel- 
phia ; in 1798, the navy department at Washington ; and, in 
1802, the military academy at West Point, on the same 
principles as the polytechnic school at Paris. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



291 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CESSION OF FLORIDA. 

Commercial Treaty with England. Re- establishment of a 
National Bank. Indiana. Mississippi. Illinois. Ala- 
bama. Maine. Missouri. Florida ceded by Spain, 
Progress of the Arts and of Literature ; of Population 
and Emancipation. 

The amicable relations with Great Britain, which had 
been restored by the treaty of Ghent, were soon afterwards 
drawn closer by a treaty of commerce. This convention, 
negotiated at London by Messrs. Adams, Clay, and Galla- 
tin, and concluded by them on the third of July, stipulates, 
that the duties charged on merchandise and tonnage shall 
be reciprocally the same, in both countries, whether the ves- 
sels entering their respective ports be of Great Britain or 
the United States; and, that the vessels of the latter shall 
be allowed, under certain limitations, to trade with the 
principal British settlements in the East Indies. But, a 
similar privilege was not extended by England, with regard 
to her colonies in the West Indies, and on the continent of 
North America. Her navigation laws, made in the reign 
of Charles the second, were, in respect to these, with the 
exception of Bermuda, Halifax, and St. John's, most rigor- 
ously maintained ; and, consequently, the United States, 
judging it expedient to enact a countervailing regulation, 
afterwards excluded from their ports all vessels sailing from 
the American colonies of England, 
^g^g But those pacific conventions did not lessen the 
propriety of augmenting the national defence. Peace 
is the most advantageous time for preparing the means of 
war. Congress resolved that the navy should be still fur- 
ther increased ; and, for this purpose, voted an annual ap- 
propriation of one million of dollars, during eight years, 
and authorized the president to have built, independent of 
vessels of a smaller size, nine ships of the line, twelve frig- 
ates, and three floating batteries ; the latter to be propelled 
by steam. 

The return of peace had not yet restored the currency of 
metallic coin. The banks continued to inundate the coun- 
try with paper money. Except in Massachusetts, all these 



292 



HISTORY OF 



institutions had now ceased to pay their notes in gold or 
silver. Speculators were still lavishly supplied by new is- 
sues, and no termination appeared of the vexatious embar- 
rassments arising from these fertile sources of national evil. 
In the absence of an adequate amount of specie, to meet the 
public claims, and create a respectable circulation, as well 
as a test of their solidity, the re-establishment of a national 
bank, which had ceased, by the expiration of its charter, in 
1810, was thought to be the most speedy cure. It was, 
therefore, enacted, after a most strenuous opposition, that 
a bank should be organized, with a capital of thirty-five 
millions of dollars, to continue twenty-one years from the 
first of July. Its labours to attain these ends, were, in the 
beginning, highly beneficial. A day was fixed, on which 
should be resumed a simultaneous payment of notes, in coin. 
All banking companies, that did not, accordingly, redeem 
their promises, were known to be insolvent; a salutary check 
was thus placed on the immoderate circulation of their 
notes, and commercial adventure confined by the prudent 
employment of only a sufficient capital. But, the general 
management of this great monied corporation was most 
reprehensible. Its first salutary influence was counterbal- 
anced by its succeeding conduct. Extravagant sums were 
advanced, in the way of discounts, on the security of its 
own hypothecated stock ; shares of which, originally ob- 
tained for a hundred dollars, were thus inflated to a hun- 
dred and sixty, but afterwards, on the exposure of this fraud- 
ulent scheme, they declined to eighty. Several millions 
were, in consequence, lost by the institution, and many in- 
dividuals were rendered penny less. Congress was not inat- 
tentive to this perversion, which, instead of relief, had dif- 
fused ruin, throughout the country. Its president was re- 
moved, and in his place was appointed Mr. Cheves, former- 
ly speaker of the house of representatives, and, more recently, 
one of the judges of South Carolina ; under whose able and 
impartial direction, the capital of the bank having been 
gradually restored, its stock gradually rose above par. 

The next subject that engrossed the attention of con- 
gress, was a revision of the duties on goods imported. In 
forming the new tariff, a judicious attention was given to 
protect domestic manufactures, without, at the same time, 
injuring the national revenue, or lessening, by over-indul- 
gence, the industry and economy requisite to their full suc- 
cess. The double war imposts were, with few exceptions s 
reduced , but, a large increase was made to the duties on 



THE UNITED STATES. 



293 



some fabrics, particularly cotton cloths, of a coarse de- 
scription, especially when imported from the East Indies; 
where, these articles are manufactured by persons content- 
ed with daily wages not exceeding a few cents, and from a 
material not grown in the United States. 

Mr. Madison having filled the office of president 
a second period of four years, and, in conformity 
with the example of his several predecessors, not having, a 
third time, offered himself as a candidate for that honoura- 
ble station, was succeeded by James Monroe ; the vice pres- 
idential chair being assigned to Daniel D. Tompkins of New 
York. 

Mr. Monroe, who enjoys the rare happiness of promoting 
the esteem, and combining in his favour the suffrages, of 
all parties, is, as were all the presidents, except Mr. Adams, 
a native of Virginia. At the early age of seventeen, he was 
dangerously wounded in the battle of Trenton, was soon af- 
terwards appointed aid-de-camp to lord Stirling, and sub- 
sequently colonel of a regiment. In 1782, he was intrust- 
ed with a seat in the legislature of his native state, in the 
following year he was a representative in congress, and in 
1790 a senator of the United States. Soon after the form- 
ation of the French republic, he was deputed, by general 
Washington, as an ambassador to Paris ; and, at another 
time, by Mr. Jefferson, to negotiate, with the consulate of 
France, the purchase of Louisiana. In 1803, he was ap- 
pointed minister to London, and, two years afterwards, was 
sent on a special mission to Madrid. On his return, he was 
elected governor of Virginia ; in the following year, was ap- 
pointed secretary of state ; and, after the capture of the city 
of Washington, he consented to undertake the arduous du- 
ties of secretary of war. 
^gjg In the winter of this year, the country was de- 
prived of the services of commodore Perry ; who fell 
a victim to the climate of Trinidad : and, in the following 
spring, Decatur was killed in a duel, near Washington, by 
commodore Barron. 

Since the termination of the war, by the peace of Ghent, 
the foreign and domestic trade of the United States, con- 
tinued to be variable and unprofitable. Merchandise and 
shipping, as well as landed estates, which, in the first two 
years of peace, had risen to an almost unprecedented de- 
gree, did not long maintain their value. The channels of 
cons j-nnf inn in America, became gradually supplied and 
23* 



294 



HISTORY OF 



overfilled. The use of her grain, in Europe, had almost 
ceased. The universal peace allowed the ships of every 
nation to be its own carriers, and its own citizens to be 
again its merchants. The flag of the United States, (as it 
had been before their rupture with England) was no longer 
the agent in trading between the various belligerants, nor 
were their sea-ports the general entrepots of the world. 
The terms of freight rapidly declined, vessels rotted in the 
American ports, ware-houses groaned under the stagnant 
pressure of accumulating merchandise. Internal traffic 
was not sufficient to employ the numerous individuals, com- 
pelled to seek, at home, a field of enterprise, now closed 
to them abroad. Competition, throughout the Union, be- 
came excessive. Houses and lands were advanced to dou- 
ble, and in many places, to treble, their former prices. 
Bank-loans had created a superabundance of paper-money, 
and furnished unlimited means of speculation and of sump- 
tuous living. But the crisis at length arrived. After the 
re-establishment of . the national bank, the redemption of 
that easily acquired money was no longer optional, but 
compulsory. Loans were, henceforth, given with caution, 
payment was demanded of those already issued, property- 
was hurried into the market, to answer this sudden call, and 
estate of all kinds declined to its former price. This, is a 
brief exhibition of the disasters produced by the transition 
from a warlike to a pacific condition, and which may be 
expected in changing also from peace to war. Let us, 
however, pray fervently for peace ; and seek comfort by the 
slow but faithful aid of industry and economy, rather than 
splendour by the rapid career of deceitful speculation. 

The public revenue could not escape being impaired by 
these multifarious embarrassments. It became inadequate 
to the expenditure, lately increased by a support given to 
the revolutionary soldiers. By an act of congress, in 1818, 
a yearly pension, sufficient for their decent maintenance, 
having been granted to those officers and privates who had 
served three successive years, more than thirty thousand af 
hat venerable army made application for relief. Several 
millions were annually required to satisfy their claims. 
Money was, in consequence, obtained by loans, and other 
public expenses were curtailed. The military was reduced 
* n numDer > and the building of ships of war, in some 
degree, suspended. The army now* consists of six 



* In 1830. 



THE UNITED STATES. 295 



thousand men ; the navy, fit for service, of eight vessels of 
the line, seven frigates, seven sloops or corvettes, and ten 
brigs and schooners. 

Since the admission of Louisiana, in 1812, six other states 
have been received into the Union, — Indiana, Mississippi, 
Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri. The original 
members of the federal government were thirteen : they are 
now twenty-four. Indiana was admitted in 1816, Missis- 
sippi in 1817, Illinois in 1818; Alabama in 1819, Maine 
and Missouri* (the latter conditionally) in 1820. In- 
diana and Illinois are sections of the same territory from 
which Ohio was made a state : Mississippi and Alabama 
belonged to Georgia ; Maine was separated from Massachu- 
setts, and Missouri from the vast tract ceded by the French, 
under the name of Louisiana,, Slavery is forbidden, by a 
law of congress, to exist in Indiana and Illinois, and had 
long ceased in Maine, as a district of Massachusetts. 

A negotiation, commenced with Spain, for the remainder 
of that portion of her territory, named Florida, which had 
been interrupted by the temporary overthrow of the old 
Spanish dynasty by Napoleon, was, on the return of Ferdi- 
nand the seventh to Madrid, renewed. That region was, at 
length, assigned to the United States. A treaty was con- 
cluded at Washington, on the twenty-second of February, 
1819; which, after many vexatious delays on the part of 
Spain, was ratified by Ferdinand on the twenty-fourth of 
October, in the succeeding year, approved by the senate 
of the United States on the nineteenth, and by the pres- 
ident, on the twenty-second of February, 1821. Five mil- 
lions of dollars were named as the price of Florida. This 
sum was not, however, to be paid to Spain. It was to be ap- 
portioned amongst those American citizens, whose property 
was illegally seized in Spanish ports, when under the un- 
controllable influence of France. Florida, though desirable 
as an extensive field of profitable agriculture, is more im- 
portant, as placing the southern boundary of the United 
States on the Gulf of Mexico ; and, consequently, removing 
the disagreeable jealousies, which had frequently irritated 
the feelings of the two nations, caused by the occupation 
of Amelia Island and other places, by disorderly troops, 

* The legislature of Missouri, having signified its concurrence with the 
act of congress, restricting it from preventing the residence of free persons 
of colour, it was formally declared a state, by a proclamatK n of the pres- 
ident, on the tenth of August, 1821. 



296 



HISTORY OF 



under ill-judged commissions from the South American re- 
publics ; as well as by the inroads of the Seminole and 
other nations, when stimulated either by their own chiefs, 
or foreign white people who had visited them for trade : — 
and the treaty designates the boundary on the side of 
Mexico, (as delineated in the map of the United States, by 
Melish,) which had been undefined in the cession of Louis- 
iana. 

Literature and science ; the arts, useful and ornamental ; 
are every year extending in the United States. No coun- 
try has more liberally provided for seminaries of learning, 
as respects the rudimental instruction of the labouring clas- 
ses ; and few governments have devoted more attention to 
the studies of the accomplished scholar, than the different 
legislatures of this great republic. Useful education is very 
generally attained. Works of polite literature, as well as 
on scientific subjects, are much esteemed, by all who claim 
Association with refined society ; and writings of domestic 
origin evince, that there continues to be a large fund of na- 
tive talent in the United States. Many of those have been 
already noticed. Dr. Morse has laid the foundation of a 
geographical dictionary. The Notes on Virginia show, that 
Jefferson, when treating on geological subjects, has min- 
gled a little scepticism with much strong philosophical ar- 
gument. Ramsay's history of the Revolution is written 
with sufficient dignity and elegance, and with as rigid im- 
partiality as any narrative that ever issued from an honest 
pen : his biography of Washington, though an abridgment, 
in comparison with the life by Marshall, should be translat- 
ed into every language, and placed, at an early age, in the 
hands of every youth. There is another history of the re- 
volutionary period, from the accomplished hand of Mrs. 
Warren. Dwight was a voluminous writer on theology, 
and courted the favour of the poetic muse. His version of 
the Psalms is approved by several respectable congrega- 
tions, but his Conquest of Canaan is little read. He has the 
ear, without the imagination, of a poet. This production 
is the out-pouring of a mind, encumbered and overwhelm- 
ed by the accumulated lines of other writers. It displays 
no novelty of thought, nor variety of style. One who is 
familiar with only a small number of poems, can not easily 
persuade himself that the Canaan is a new work. The an- 
tithetic and condensed structure of Pope, and the flowing 
melody of Goldsmith, are pleasing, when accompanied by 
a teeming richness of fancy ; but the monotonous imitations 



THE UNITED STATES. 207 



by Dwight, are insupportably fatiguing.* In the Vision of 
Columbus, or Columbiad, of Joel Barlow, the language 
is smooth and stately; the allusions are judicious, the simi- 
lies mostly well drawn, and appropriate. It is, altogether, 
a respectable performance, and superior to the Canaan. 
But dignity, softness, and general propriety, are its* whole 
merits. Those bold, happy efforts of the imagination, which 
interest and delight us, equally by their novelty and inge- 
nuity, are seldom found in the Columbiad. The structure 
of the Iliad ; its manner, similies, and figures, as copied 01 
varied in the ^Eneid, and reflected in the fine translations 
of the former by Pope and Cowper, and of the latter, by Pitt 
and Dryden ; incessantly recur. M'Fingall, a Hudibrastic 
satire by Trumbull, exhibits more invention than either of 
the preceding. Charles Thomson has translated the Bible 
from the Septuagint. John Quincy Adams has published 
his brilliant course of rhetorical lectures. The " British 
Spy" of Wirt, decidedly claims a place amongst the Ameri- 
can classics. Salmagundi, the combined effusions of Ir- 
ving, Paulding, and Verplanck, is an admirable fund of hu- 
mour, and contains some beautiful specimens of poetry. 
The semi-historical volumes, entitled Knickerbocker's His- 
tory of New- York, by Irving, give a most humorous cari- 
cature of real events. Paulding's allegorical history, bearing 
the title of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, will not appear 
the less entertaining, when compared with the happiest ef- 
fort of Swift, in the same difficult line of political satire, 
The last three authors possess fine talents for the comic 
drama. Brackenridge writes with energy and clearness. 



* " Give me the line that ploughs its stately course, 
Like a proud swan, conquering the stream by force ; 
That, like some cottage beauty, strikes the heart, 
Quite unindebted to the tricks of art. 
When labour and when dullness, club in hand. 
Like the two figures at St. Dunstan's, stand, 
Beating alternately, in measured rhyme, 
Exact and regular the sounds will be, 
But such mere quarter-strokes are not for me." 

Cowper's Table Talk, 

Speaking of Pope, Cowper says : 

" But he, (his musical finesse was such,) 
So nice his ear, so delicate his touch, 
Made poetry a mere mechanic art, 
And every warbler has his tune by heart." 



298 



HISTORY OF 



fn works of the imagination, Cooper, formerly an officer of 
the navy, surpasses all other American writers: — indeed, 
he may be viewed as the only citizen of the United States, 
that has yet written a novel of intense interest, such as 
will become a universal favourite, without the adventitious 
and dishonest aid of purchased eulogy. 

Architecture, except in a few buildings at New York and 
Philadelphia, and the capitol and president's house at Wash- 
ington, has not yet appeared in classical elegance or gran- 
deur ; but, in private dwellings, there is shown a neatness, 
durability, and elegance of workmanship, not surpassed in 
the finest cities of the old world. Useful inventions are en- 
couraged by the legislature, and the fertility of American 
genius is commensurate w ith the protection. It is not a just 
criterion of ingenuity, that, in twenty-four years, two thou- 
sand general patents w r ere obtained, to secure the inventors' 
rights : a considerable number of these improvements are of 
European growth, and many American theories are proved 
illusive by the hand of practice ; but the inventive faculty 
in the United States is demonstrated by various exhibitions 
of mechanical economy. Whittimore's engine for making 
wool and cotton cards, is a wonderful display of mental fac- 
ulty ; and the machinery for cutting nails, the invention, we 
believe, of Briggs, embraces, in its successive improve- 
ments, an interesting variety of labour-saving modifications. 
The accomplishment of an effective steam-boat, is an epoch 
in human progress. Fulton is entitled to the same degree 
of merit, for his successful adaptation of the power of steam 
f.o navigation, that is due to Watt, of Great Britain, for his 
improvement in the steam-engine. A century had elapsed, 
from the time when the first hint of this engine was given 
by the marquis of Worcester, to its consummation by the 
philosophic Watt ; and nearly as long an interval, from the 
first experiment on the steam-boat, by Jonathan Hulls, of 
London, to its completion by Robert Fulton. Hulls obtain- 
ed a patent for his invention, from George the second, in 
the year 1737 ; Fitch propelled a boat, by the same princi- 
ple, on the Delaware, in 1783 : Miller, of Scotland, con- 
structed a double boat, w T ith a wheel in the centre, w T ith 
which, he made a passage to and from Sweden, in 1789 : 
and, finally, after various trials, by different persons, on the 
Thames and on the Seine, Fulton rendered the plan sus- 
ceptible of little further improvement, in 1807. The Cler- 
mont was then driven on the Hudson, at the rate of five 



THE UNITED STATES. 299 



miles an hour; and, subsequently, all the great rivers of the 
United States have been navigated, by similar vessels, more 
than twice the distance in the same space of time. In the 
summer of 1819, the Atlantic was crossed, for the first time, 
by a steam-boat. A vessel driven by steam, with the occa 
sional aid of sails, was despatched by some enterprising 
merchants of Savannah, to St. Petersburgh, and made her 
passage home in fifty days. Fulton, celebrated also for his 
submarine explosions, was born in Little Britain, Pennsyl- 
vania, and educated in the town of Lancaster ; whence, hav- 
ing removed to Philadelphia, he attended, for a short time, 
the business of a jeweller, and acquired, in his leisure hours, 
considerable proficiency in the art of painting. He lived 
many years in England, under the patronage of the Amer- 
ican West ; and, becoming known to his countryman, Rum- 
sey, the duke of Bridgewater, lord Stanhope, and many 
other opulent promoters of the arts, attended, thencefor- 
ward, chiefly his favourite inclination towards the formation 
of canals. Paris was the next theatre of his enterprise ; 
where he remained, for several years, the companion of the 
American minister, Joel Barlow, and the inmate of his 
house. He returned to his native country, in 1806; and 
died, when little above the middle age, by inflammation of 
the lungs, in 1815, at New York. 

The neutrality, so long maintained by the American re- 
public, offered an asylum to many distinguished Europeans. 
The visit of Moore, the lyric poet, was one of pleasure. 
But Talleyrand, the great political Proteus, resided several 
years in the United States, to avoid the proscriptions of his 
own country ; a son of the marquis la Fayette, Chateaubriand, 
Volney, general Moreau, Joseph and Jerome Buonaparte ; 
Dr. Priestley, the celebrated philosopher and polemical 
divine ; also Thomas Paine ; sought refuge in different places 
of the Union. Dr. Priestley died at Northumberland, in 
Pennsylvania ; Thomas Paine, in New York. Jerome Buona- 
parte was unworthy of protection. His conduct, in deserting, 
by his brother Napoleon's mandate, the daughter of a respect- 
able citizen of Baltimore, whom he had married, and after- 
wards placing on his throne a princess of Napoleon's choice, 
will always be remembered with detestation. Her disap- 
pointment, and his own reverse, remind us, when impelled 
by inordinate ambition, that happiness cannot be secured by 
exalted rank, nor a throne by the power of armies. 

in the year 1820, the fourth census of the inhabitants 
was recorded. In 1790, the population was three millions 



300 



HISTORY OF 



nine hundred and twenty-one thousand, in 1800, five mil- 
lions three hundred and twenty thousand ; in 1810, seven 
millions tw r o hundred and forty thousand ; in 1820, nine 
millions six hundred and thirty-eight thousand. At the last 
of these periods, the inhabitants of Boston numbered forty- 
two thousand ; of Providence, twelve ; New York, one hun- 
dred and twenty ; Philadelphia, one hundred and fifteen ; 
Pittsburg, seven thousand ; Baltimore, sixty-two ; Washing 
ton, thirteen ; Norfolk, eight ; Richmond, twelve ; Charles- 
ton, twenty-five ; Savannah, seven ; New Orleans, twenty- 
seven thousand. The Indians within the federal jurisdic- 
tion, are not included in the census. In 1790, six hundred 
and ninety-eight thousand were slaves; in 1800, eight hun- 
dred and ninety-seven thousand; in 1810, one million one 
hundred and ninety-one thousand; in 1820, one million five 
hundred and thirty thousand. In those which are denom- 
inated slave-holding states, the largest proportion appeared, 
then, in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Georgia ; Missis- 
sippi, Virginia, and Alabama; North Carolina, Maryland, 
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri ; descending, in com- 
parative amount, from South Carolina, where fifty-one out 
of every hundred of the entire population were in bondage^ 
to Missouri, in which were fifteen in every hundred. Dela- 
ware and New r Jersey possessed a considerable number of 
slaves : the latter, comparatively the smallest. The number 
in New York was proportionably less than in New Jersey : 
Rhode Island had only forty-eight ; Connecticut, propor- 
tionably few T er ; Pennsylvania, fewer still ; Maine, Massa- 
chusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, none. 

Since the middle of the last century, expanded minds 
have been, with slow gradations, promoting the decrease of 
slavery in North America. The progress of truth is slow r ; 
but it will, in the end, prevail. The first voice raised against 
this uncharitable practice, was by a Quaker, the amiable 
and enlightened John Woolman, of Mount Holly, in New 
Jersey. He wrote his sentiments on that subject in the 
year 1746 ; strenuously recommended its abolition, at the 
several stated meetings of his society ; and, in 1754, pub- 
lished his " Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes ;" a 
work admirable for its dispassionate and lucid style of ar- 
gument ; highly beneficial in his own time, and deserving 
most serious attention at the present. Anthony Benezet, 
of Philadelphia, though his writings were subsequent to 
Vvoolman'g, has acquired a yet higher rank among philan- 
thropists. His labours, in the same field, were singularly 



THE UNITED STATES. 301 



active, and conspicuously successful. St. George Tucker, 
of Virginia, also, wrote an able dissertation against slavery. 
A duty on the importation of slaves was laid by New York, 
in 1753 ; by Pennsylvania, in 1762 ; and by New Jersey, in 
1769. Virginia, the first state concerned in their introduc 
tion, was also the first that set an example of thei* exclu- 
sion ; having, in the year 1778, amidst the perplexing scenes 
of civil warfare, passed an act to discontinue their entry in- 
to her ports. In 1780, Pennsylvania made a law for the 
giadual abolition of slavery ; a law, which, although it did 
not allow all the natural rights declared in her constitution, 
has the merit of being the earliest legislative proceeding of 
the kind, in any nation ; and, soon afterwards, there was in- 
stituted in the same state, a society " for promoting the 
abolition of slavery, for the relief of free negroes unlawfully 
held in bondage, and for improving the condition of the 
African race." All the other states, north and east of Mary- 
land, have since made laws for their gradual emancipation. 
On the adoption of the federal government, congress was au- 
thorized to prohibit, at the end of twenty years, the import- 
ation of negroes, into any part of the United States ; and, 
accordingly, no arrivals have legally occurred since 1807. 
In 1820, a society for colonizing free people of colour, be- 
gan a settlement at Sierra Leone, on the coast of Africa. 
A heavy grievance, however, is yet to be removed. Vir- 
ginia, as well as every other American republic that still 
sanctions domestic bondage, will, we confidently anticipate, 
at no distant period, make arrangements, to unloosen, by 
degrees, the fetters, which are not less alarming to the mas- 
ter, than galling to the slave. Let us not only declare by 
words, but demonstrate by our actions, " That all men are 
created equal ; that they are endowed, by their Creator, 
with certain unalienable rights ; that, amongst these, are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Let us vener- 
ate the instruction of that great and amiable man, to whom, 
chiefly, under Providence, the United States are indebted 
for their liberties ; the world, for a common home : ' That 
there exists an indissoluble union between virtue and hap- 
piness, between duty and advantage." 

26 



[ 302 ] 



(After the third edition of this history had been published, the Authoi 
*as favoured with the following letter, from the distinguished philan- 
thropist, Mr. Roberts Vaux :] — 

Philadelphia, 8mo. 18, 1824, 
TO WILLIAM GRIMSHAW, ESQ. 

Respected Friend. — Yesterday, on looking over for th 
first time, thy " History of the United States, fyc" I was 
struck with an error, or rather an omission in point of fact, in 
regard to the original promulgation of sentiments which led 
to the abolition of negro slavery in Pennsylvania. In page 
300, of the third edition, of thy History of the United States, 
a very just notice of the amiable and excellent John Woolman, 
and the equally beneficent Anthony Benezet, is to be found ; 
but, for the fidelity of history, it is due, to say, that these 
valuable men were by no means the first to awaken reflection, 
upon this important subject. As early as 1698, a settlement 
of Friends, (or Quakers) near Germantown, expressed their 
opinion of the unrighteousness of human bondage, and con- 
veyed that opinion to the yearly meeting of Friends, solicit- 
ing its attention specially to the consideration of the practice. 
In 1718, Benjamin Lay publicly protested against the in- 
human custom, and was aided in the same cause by Ralph 
Sandiford. For a more particular account of the labours of 
these benevolent individuals, I would refer thee to Memoirs 
of their Lives, which I prepared, and had published a few 
years since. Thy useful work will no doubt be generally 
read in our country, and from its character seems to be well 
adapted for schools ; it is important, therefore, to give it 
every possible degree of authenticity ; and to this end I 
would call thy attention to a correction of the part alluded 
to, in a future edition. 

Very respectfully, 

ROBERTS VAUX, 



THE UNITED STATES. 



303 



CHAPTER XIV. 

General Jackson appointed governor of Florida. Independ- 
ence of the South American Republics acknowledged. 
Piracies suppressed by the American squadron. Loss of 
the Hornet. 

In pursuance of an act passed at the termination of the ses- 
sion of congress in 1821, providing for the temporary govern- 
ment of Florida, according to the laws then existing in that 
province, and authorizing the president to take possession ; 
on the seventh of March, he appointed general Jackson gov- 
ernor of the territory, and invested him with the powers for- 
merly exercised by the Spanish governors. Elijeus Fromentin 
was appointed chief-justice. The Spanish authorities re- 
luctantly yielded their respective commands, on the twenty 
second of August, the last day allowed by the treaty for that 
purpose ; manifesting a disposition to embarrass, as much as 
they possibly could, the operations of the new government. 
1822 ^ n ^ s P rin g °f this year, the independence of the 
South American republics, and also of the state of 
Mexico, was recognized by congress, and an appropriation 
made to defray the expenses of establishing with them a diplo- 
matic intercourse. This recognition was not without a bene- 
ficial influence upon the European powers. Slowly and cau- 
tiously following the example of the United States, Great 
Britain, in the year 1824, recognized the republics of South 
America, as independent sovereignties. Six years have 
elapsed since the last hostile banner of Spain has been furl- 
ed in the southern republics; yet still their governments are 
unsettled, and there exists internal discord, attended with 
the effusion of human blood. # 

Desperate gangs of pirates, of various nations, and of all 
colours, infested the American seas, from the year 1818, to 
1823, to so great an extent, as to render the navigation ex 
tremely perilous ; their robberies being often accompanied 
with the most cool-blooded and barbarous murder. Their 
principal haunts were on the northern coast of Cuba, from 
one hundred to two hundred miles distant from Havana. 
There, they found a region uninhabited, beyond the o^era 
tions of the Spanish authorities, indented with numerous nar 
row inlets, affording secure places of retreat for their smalt 



*A. D. 1830. 



304 



HISTORY OF 



vessels, and inaccessible to ships of any considerable size. 
The pirates had their agents at Havana and Matanzas, to 
give them notice of the sailing of merchant vessels from 
those ports ; and any that ventured to sail without convoy 
almost invariably became their prey. 

To protect their commerce in those seas, the measure first 
pursued by the government of the United States, was to'station 
there the Congress frigate and eight small vessels. This 
force, in the year preceding November, 1822, captured and 
destroyed more than twenty piratical vessels on the coast of 
Cuba ; but it did not fully effectuate the purpose, not being 
provided with the means of following them into their re- 
cesses, and breaking up their haunts. The proper species 
of vessels, was, however, at length supplied. In December, 
congress made provision for an armament, to consist of light 
vessels and boats, calculated to pursue the pirates into their 
retreats ; and accordingly, an additional force, consisting of 
the Peacock sloop of war, a steam galliot, and ten small ves- 
sels, carrying three or four guns each, was despatched to the 
West India seas, and, with the fleet then on that station, 
placed under the command of Commodore Porter. 

1823 r ^^ ie armamen * sailed in the ensuing February, for 
St. Thomas, the place of their first rendezvous ; and 

having been divided into four squadrons, it was sent to re- 
connoitre the northern coasts of Cuba and St. Domingo. 

High praise is due to the officers and seamen employed in 
that expedition. Scarcely ever was there undertaken a more 
harassing service. A long and continued exposure to a trop- 
ical sun by day, and deadly chills and damps by night, 
threatened the lives of the little bands, who were seeking, in 
open boats, and vessels of the smallest size, the haunts of 
the freebooters amongst the rocks and shoals of the unin 
habited coasts of Cuba and St. Domingo. It was performed, 
however, with so remarkable zeal and success, that, at the 
end of sixty days from the commencement of his operations, 
the commodore, in his official despatches to the secretary of 
the navy, was enabled to say, that there was not a pirate 
afloat in the region of Matanzas, the scene of their greatest 
depredations, larger than an open boat ; and that not a single 
piratical act had been committed on the coast of Cuba, since 
he had organized and arranged his forces. 

1824 ^ * s w ^ n re £ ret > tna ^ we have now to record an 
affair, which involved the gallant commander of the 

American squadron in difficulties, the most serious, as re- 



THE UNITED STATES. 305 



garded his own standing in the navy, and might have pro- 
duced consequences still more unfortunate to his country. 
We allude to an affair which occurred at Foxardo. In Octo- 
ber, 1824, lieutenant Piatt, in a small schooner, was cruising, 
off the island of St. Thomas, about thirty miles eastward of 
Porto Rico, when a company of American merchants, re- 
siding in St. Thomas, informed him that their store had been 
broken open, and property to a large amount stolen from it, 
requesting his assistance, and offering, for its recovery, a re- 
ward of a thousand dollars. Suspicious circumstances in- 
duced a belief, that the property had been carried to Foxardo, 
a small town in Porto Rico. Lieutenant Piatt engaged with 
zeal in its restoration ; and, taking on board the clerk of the 
house, proceeded to Foxardo, and made known his character 
and business to the authorities of the town. But as he ap- 
peared before them in the dress of a private citizen, and on 
an affair in no way connected with his official duty, he be- 
came himself an object of suspicion, and was detained, with 
circumstances of some indignity, until he could send on 
board his vessel, and produce his uniform and his commis- 
sion, when he was released, without having obtained any in- 
formation or assistance, as to the object of his pursuit. On 
commodore Porter's return from the United States, whither 
he had gone on account of the ill health of some of his 
crews, the lieutenant reported to him the circumstances of 
this unfortunate proceeding. The commodore, viewing the 
treatment experienced by his lieutenant as an insult to the 
American flag — an inference in which we do not concur with 
that gallant officer — immediately proceeded with three ships 
to the harbour of Foxardo ; landed with a party of marines ; 
took possession of a small fort which guarded its entrance ; 
marched to the town, and demanded an apology, such as he 
himself should dictate, for the insult suffered by his lieute- 
nant ; in case of refusal, threatening the destruction of the 
place. The Spaniards were thus intimidated, the required 
apology was given, and the commodore re-embarked. 

This transaction was at variance with the commodore's in- 
structions, which required him, by all the means in his power, 
consistent with the honour of his government, to cultivate a 
good understanding with the Spanish authorities in the West 
Indies. Lieutenant Piatt's undertaking to recover the lost 
goods of the St. Thomas merchants, was entirely out of ths 
line of his duty. Appearing at Foxardo in the character o± 
a searcher for stolen goods, he forfeited his claim to any 
26* 



306 



HISTORY OF 



special honours as a naval officer of the United States, how- 
ever justice and common courtesy might require the inhabit- 
ants to aid him in his object. The commodore's military 
visit to avenge a supposed insult, could be considered in no 
other light than a hostile invasion of a peaceful territory , 
while the weakness and inability of the village to make re 
sistance, aggravated, rather than diminished, the offence. 

The commodore was arrested, and tried by a court mar 
tial, on two charges ; the first, for disobedience of orders, in 
the affair of Foxardo ; the second, for insubordinate and un 
officer-like conduct, in relation to the time of publishing a 
certain pamphlet in vindication of his conduct. He was 
found guilty on both charges, and sentenced to be suspended 
from his command for six months. The sentence was ap- 
proved by the president, and carried into execution. The 
commodore felt himself greatly aggrieved by these proceed- 
ings. He therefore resigned his command in the American 
navy, and entered into a negotiation with the Mexican go- 
vernment, by which he became commander-in-chief of all 
the naval forces in Mexico, with an annual salary of twenty- 
five thousand dollars ; an engagement, in direct violation of 
the laws of the United States. 

The loss of the American sloop of war Hornet, some years 
afterwards, in the gulf of Mexico, is an event which brought 
sorrow to the heart of many a family in the United States. 
At the worst period of the autumnal equinox, that vessel was 
compelled to remain off Tampico, to protect American pro- 
perty during the tumults attending the invasion of Barradaj? 
by the Spanish troops. She had taken on board a consider 
able sum of money, and the day before her loss a number of 
the inhabitants visited her on a party of pleasure. It was 
destined to a fearful termination. The weather became 
threatening, # and, on the tenth of September, 1829, the Hor- 
net put to sea, carrying with her all her ill-fated guests. The 
prognostic proved too true : the blast came, one of the most 
tremendous ever known in that region of violent convulsions. 
Sweeping down the lofty mountains, it overturned all within 
its course : crops, buildings, men, and animals, disappeared 
before its fury. The vessels anchored in the smooth river 
of Tampico, and sheltered by its banks, were either stranded 
or overset : and those lying in the harbour, without, were 
either driven to sea, or foundered at their anchors. It is now 
more than two years, since the disappearance of the Hornet. 
Not a word of intelligence has been received from her. Th& 



THE UNITED STATES. 



307 



mariner who has passed with an anxious eye over the scene 
of her departure, has been able to trace no vestige of her 
wreck. Of the thousand floating objects that generally cast 
themselves from a sinking ship, and swim on the surface of 
the deep, nothing — not so much as an oar or a handspike — 
has yet been found, to tell her fate with something more than 
the uncertainty of a vague and cruel apprehension : — the sea 
seems, in its insatiate vortex, to have swallowed all ! Three 
hundred officers and men, together with her visiters who 
stepped upon her deck full of life and joy, have descended 
to one common grave — the bottom of the stormy deep ! 

Captain Norris, the commander of the Hornet, bore a high 
character in the navy, as a cool, collected officer, and skilful 
seaman; and, of the second in rank, lieutenant Mackey, it is 
doing no injustice to his brother officers, to say, that he has 
not left his superior behind him. 
1824 ^ e e ^ ect ^ on °f an individual to fill the high and 
honourable office of president of the United States, at 
this period excited more than ordinary attention. One of the 
first objects of the combatants was to secure the co-operation 
of as many of the presses as possible, for their respective 
candidates. Six hundred different newspapers were now in 
circulation in the United States, amongst a million and a 
half of electors. Their influence is powerful and controlling, 
and, as the period of voting approached, by the zealous ex- 
ertions of partizan editors, the people were induced to take 
sides in the electioneering contest. In the electoral colleges, 
the votes were, for gen. Jackson, 99 ; being a majority of 
eleven states; for Mr. Adams, 84 ; a majority of seven states; 
for Mr. Crawford, 41 ; three states ; for Mr. Clay, 37 ; also 
three states. No one of the candidates having a majority 
of the whole number of votes, in conformity with the pro- 
visions of the constitution, the election from the three high- 
est candidates devolved upon the house of representatives ; 
the votes to be given by states, each state having an equal 
voice, and a majority of all the states being necessary to con- 
stitute a choice. The ill health of Mr. Crawford, and his 
small number of votes compared with the highest two, placed 
him out of the question ; and, for many weeks before the ulti- 
mate canvass, gen. Jackson and Mr. Adams were considered 
as the only real candidates. On the 9th of February, 1825, 
the house divided itself into state sections, and proceeded to 
the election of a president. On the first ballot, Mr. Adams had 
the votes of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 



303 



HISTORY OF 



Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Maryland, Ken- 
lucky, Ohio, Louisiana, Illinois, and Missouri ; being thir- 
teen states : general Jackson had the votes of New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, 
and Mississippi ; seven states : Mr. Crawford, the votes of 
Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia ; four 
states : and thus, Mr. Adams, though not having a majority 
of all the votes of the electors, or of the house of representa- 
tives taken individually, yet, having a majority of the states, 
was declared to be duly elected. 

One of the most annoying and persevering opponents of 
the new administration, was the eloquen* but eccentric John 
Randolph, of Roanoke. On the eighth day of April, 1826, 
a duel was fought, near Washington, between that gentleman 
and Mr. Clay, in consequence of a challenge from the latter, 
arising from certain expressions used by Mr. Randolph in a 
recent debate in the senate, which Mr. Clay considered of- 
fensive, and applied personally to himself. Mr. Randolph 
was attended by colonel Tatnall of Georgia, and major Ha- 
milton of South Carolina; Mr. Clay^ by general Jessup, of 
the army, and Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana; and at the second 
fire, the ball of Mr. Clay passed through Mr. Randolph's 
clothes. 



CHAPTER XV. 

FIFTH CENSUS. 

Visit of La Fayette. Settlement * of Liberia. Creeks and 
CheroJcees. National Jubilee. Death of John Adams 
and Thomas Jefferson. Internal Improvements. Fifth 
Census. 

Not inferior in interest to the presidential election, was 
the visit of genera] La Fayette to the United States, in the 
year 1824. His participation in the revolutionary contest, 
has already formed a prominent subject of this history ; and 
his independent conduct during the revolutionary struggle in 
his native country, and subsequent imprisonment at Olmutz 
have been noticed in our history of France. 



THE UNITED STATES. SOO 

In 1823, he made known his intention of visiting America. 
On being apprised of this, congress passed a resolution ex- 
pressing a grateful recollection of his services, and requesting 
the president to offer a public ship, for his accommodation. 
La Fayette, however, preferred a private vessel; and having 
engaged a passage in the Cadmus, under the command of 
captain Allen, he sailed from Havre, on the thirteenth day of 
July, and arrived in the harbour of New York, on Sunday 
the fifteenth of August, 1824, accompanied by his son, Mr 
George Washington La Fayette, and his secretary, Mr. Le- 
vasseur. 

In visiting America, almost half a century from the period 
of his military career, and, at the age of sixty-seven, La 
Fayette could hope to meet few of his former associates in 
arms. Most of them had found rest in the silent grave. A 
new generation had risen to manhood ; a new army had re- 
crimsoned with their blood, that soil which he had assisted 
to set free ; and a third generation were springing up, ready 
to fight again in the fields of their fathers' glory. He ex- 
pected to pass silently and unnoticed, amongst the tombs of 
his patriotic comrades, and, as a stranger amongst their de- 
scendants, with the occasional satisfaction of taking an old 
fellow-soldier by the hand. 

He was equally surprised and delighted, on his approach 
to the American shores. History furnishes no record of an 
individual receiving so universal and spontaneous a demon- 
stration of respect. At the entrance of New York bay, he 
was received by governor Tompkins ; and, on his landing, 
was conducted to the residence of that gentleman, on Staten 
Island. The next day, preparations were made for his re- 
ception in the city. Business was suspended, and, at an 
early hour, the inhabitants were in motion, to witness the 
landing of the illustrious guest. The ringing of bells, the 
roar of cannon, the waving of the national flag, and the pa- 
rade of the military, proclaimed it a day of universal joy. 
The numbers collected on this occasion, were estimated to 
be not less than fifty thousand. At ten o'clock in the morn- 
ing, a steamboat, manned by two hundred Americans, and 
decorated with the flags of the various nations whose ships 
were in the harbour, set off for Staten Island, accompanied 
by six other steamboats, crowded with passengers, and en- 
livened by bands of martial music. The committee of ar- 
rangements, the officers of the United States army and navy 
the general officers of the New York militia, and the com* 



310 



HISTORY OF 



mittee of the Cincinnati Society, proceeded to the island, and 
leceived the general on board. At two o'clock, he landed at 
the battery ; where he was received by a salute from the 
military, accompanied by the reiterated cheers of the im- 
mense concourse of citizens, assembled to bid him welcome. 

La Fayette remained in New York four days, visiting the 
public places, and receiving the congratulations of the peo- 
ple. Thence, he proceeded to Boston, in a splendid car- 
riage provided by the corporation, and attended by four al- 
dermen of the city. 

His tour, eastward, as far as Portsmouth ; southward, as 
far as New Orleans ; and westward, to St. Louis, in the state of 
Missouri ; and back to Boston, by the way of Louisville, Cin- 
cinnati, Pittsburg, Rochester, Schenectady, Utica, Troy, and 
Albany ; a journey of more than five thousand miles, was 
every where signalized by the same enthusiastic attentions 
and congratulations. Welcome La Fayette ! Health, Hap- 
piness, Honour, and Long Life to the Nation's Guest, re- 
sounded from every quarter of the union. 

At Washington, on the tenth of December, La Fayette was 
introduced, by a committee, consisting of one member from 
each state, into the hall of the house of representatives; 
where the speaker, in the name of the whole people of the 
United States, bade him a cordial welcome. The general 
replied, in language expressive of a deep sense of gratitude, 
for the distinguished honour. Congress, however, could not 
satisfy themselves, or do justice to the public feeling, with- 
out giving their illustrious guest a more substantial token of 
the nation's gratitude. From the sacrifices made by him to 
the American cause-, and the confiscations of his property by 
the revolutionists in his own country, La Fayette had become 
poor. A numerous family depended on him for support; 
and he had not the means of maintaining them in the style 
which their rank in society required. In his message, at the 
opening of the session, Mr. Monroe noticed, in appropriate 
and affectionate terms, the arrival of La Fayette ; and re- 
commended to congress, that, " Considering his very im- 
portant services, his losses and sacrifices, such provision 
should be made, and tendered to him, as would correspond 
with the sentiments, and be worthy the character of the 
American people." 

A committee of the senate, to whom the subject was re- 
ferred, reported two resolutions; one granting him # two hun- 
dred thousand dollars in money; the other, a township of six 



THE UNITED STATES. 



311 



miles square, of any of the unappropriated lands, which the 
president should direct. These resolutions, after encoun- 
tering some opposition, on the ground that there were meri- 
torious officers, citizens of the United States, now living in 
poverty and dependence, whose services were unrewarded, 
passed both houses, by large majorities, and were presented 
to the general by a joint committee, accompanied by a com- 
plimentary address. 

After making a second visit to Boston, in order to witness 
the laying of the corner-stone of a monument at Bunker's 
Hill, erected in commemoration of the battle fought there, on 
the seventeenth of June, 1775, just half a century before, 
General La Fayette returned to Washington, preparatory to 
leaving the United States ; and became a guest of Mr. Adams, 
at the presidential mansion. On Thursday, the seventh of 
September, 1825, he took an affectionate leave of the presi- 
dent, and numerous citizens assembled on the occasion ; on 
the same day, he was conveyed from the city in the steam- 
boat Mount Vernon, and went on board the newly built 
frigate Brandywine, which had been named in honour of the 
battle-ground where he had shed his first blood for American 
independence, and prepared for his accommodation. The 
vessel sailed on the following day; and on the eighth of Oc- 
tober, after a short but boisterous passage, arrived at the port 
of Havre, in France. 

In a previous chapter, we stated, that in 1820 a society for 
colonizing free people of colour began a settlement at Sierra 
Leone, on the coast of Africa. In December, 1821, an agent 
on behalf of the society, sailed, in the schooner Alligator 
commanded by lieutenant Stockton, for Cape Montserado ; 
and with much difficulty succeeded in purchasing from the 
natives, for merchandize of the value of six hundred dollars, 
a tract of land, forty miles square, at the mouth of the Mont- 
serado river, in six degrees north latitude, two hundred and, 
fifty miles south of Sierra Leone. The tract has a good har- 
bour, is high, fertile, and the healthiest in that region. The 
colonists were immediately transferred to the new establish- 
ment ; and, in the ensuing August, the settlement was rein 
forced by the arrival of a vessel from Baltimore, with thirty- 
five emigrants and fifteen recaptured Africans. 

The territory was afterwards named Liberia, and the set- 
tlement at Montserado called Monrovia, in honour of the 
president of the United States, under whose auspices ; r had 
been conducted.. 



312 



HISTORY OF 



Another mode of disposing of the free coloured population, 
was tried, but with little success. The president of Hayti, 
desirous of increasing the number of his subjects, invited 
them to his dominions, offering them the privileges of free 
citizens, and as much land as they would settle upon and 
cultivate, and to bear the expenses of their transportation, 
and also of their support, until they could provide for them- 
selves. In 1824, president Boyer sent Mr.Grenville to New 
York, with these propositions, offering to make provision for 
the immediate transportation of six thousand. The members 
and friends of the colonization society, in the northern states, 
favoured the object ; viewing it as auxiliary to the main de- 
sign of furnishing a proper retreat for the coloured popula- 
tion of the United States. But the plan was universally 
opposed in the south. The existence, in their vicinity, of a 
nation of free negroes, was viewed with jealousy and distrust. 
A considerable number accepted the propositions of Mr. 
Grenville, embarked for Hayti, but not to the extent of the 
provision. Finding, however, that subsistence was not to be 
obtained there without laborious exertion, the emigrants be- 
came discontented ; many of them returned to the United 
States, and the project failed. 

To a proposition for the formation of a distinct colony of 
emigrants in his dominions, to be governed by their own 
laws, and connected with him only by alliance, the president 
of Hayti gave a decided negative ; stating that every resident 
on the island must be subject to the general laws of the 
country. 

In the winter of 1825, a numerous deputation from the 
Creek nation of Indians, convened at Washington, and, after 
a tedious negotiation, were with difficulty induced to sign a 
treaty, in February, 1826 ; by which they ceded more than 
four millions of acres of their lands in Georgia, retaining 
rather less than one million, and the remainder was after- 
wards purchased by the United States, for the benefit of 
Georgia ; and thus terminated a warm and protracted contro- 
versy between Georgia and the Creek nation. 

But there is yet another nation, whose appeals to the pro- 
tection of the laws of the United States, against the alleged 
usurpations of the state of Georgia, excite a more than ordi- 
nary feeling of sympathy in the breasts of disinterested 
Americans. We allude to the Cherokees, a people who 
number about fifteen thousand, and who possess a territory 



THE UNITED STATES. 



313 



often millions of acres, on the borders of Georgia, Alabama, 
and Tennessee, and lying partly in each of these states. 

In November, 1821, there arrived at Washington, accom- 
panied by major O'Fallon, Indian agent on the Missouri, a 
deputation from the Pawnee, Omakar, Kansas, Otoe, and Mis- 
souri tribes. Their object was to visit their great father, the 
president, and learn something of that civilization of which 
they had hitherto remained in total ignorance. They were 
from the most remote tribes with which we have intercourse ; 
and were believed to be the first of those nations that ever 
had been in the midst of our settlements. The Pawnees are 
said to be the most warlike tribe, of which we have any 
knowledge ; not so numerous as some others, but more for- 
midable, because united. 

In the winter of 1828, an interesting deputation of the 
Winnebago nation, were introduced to the president of the 
United States. After partaking of some refreshments, an 
old chief stepped forth into the centre of the room, having in 
his hand a long uncouth pipe, which, after a brief ceremonial, 
he brought near to the president, and waved over his head. 
It was the calumet of peace. Holding it then before him, 
and pointing to it, he began an harangue, in slow, guttural 
tones, accompanied with much earnest gesture. He spoke 
in short paragraphs, while an Indian of the half-blood re- 
ported them in French, and a second interpreter conveyed 
the English. 

" Father," said he, " I am glad to see you. I hold out this 
pipe, and I take your hand in friendship.— Father : A cloud 
has been between us. It was thick and black. I thought 
once it would never be removed. But I now see your face. 
It looks upon me pleasantly.— Father : A long way stretched 
between, us. There were those who told me it was blocked 
up. They said the red men could not pass it. I attempted 
it. It is like the plain path which conducts to the Great 
Spirit. — -Father : When I came in sight of your home, it 
looked white and beautiful. My heart rejoiced. I thought 
now I should talk with you.— Father : The Great Spirit gave 
to his children, the Winnebagoes, a pleasant plant. It is good 
to smoke. I have it here"— touching with his ringer the 
bowl of the pipe— 4 c I give it to you in peace.- — Father : I 
am as old as you. My heart is true. They told me your 
heart was black. It is not so. We salute ; n friendship.— 
Father : I say no more. My talk is little. I am a chief 
27 



314 



HISTORY OF 



among my people. But one is here, who will speak to you 
soon, and tell you better our thoughts." 

The address being ended, a young Winnebago advanced, 
in obedience to a signal from the old warrior, and lighted the 
pipe with fire struck from a flint. The pipe was then pre- 
sented to the president, the chief still holding its stem. He 
inhaled a few puffs, and, as the smoke curled gently upward, 
the savage group gazed with intentness, and uttered a low 
murmur of satisfaction. The chief then handed the calumet 
to all the spectators, in order, and lastly to each of his tribe. 
It was next transferred, in form, to the president, to be re- 
tained ; and he, requesting the Indian to lay one hand upon 
it again, while he pledged him with the other, proceeded to 
dictate to the interpreter his reply : 

" Say to this chief, I rejoice to see him. He and his bre- 
thren are welcome to me and my children. Tell him, it has 
grieved me that a cloud has been between us; but I am 
pleased equally with him, that it has been dissipated. It is 
dispersed like the fumes of the pipe we have smoked. — May 
it never close down upon us more ! 

" Say — I am glad that he and his companions meet me on 
this propitious day. Bid him look to the face of the heavens. 
No cloud is there. The sun shines brightly upon us. The 
Great Spirit looks down, and smiles upon our meeting. 

u Say— I hope the same sun will light his path in peace to 
the abodes of his fathers. When he is gone, I will look upon 
this pipe with pleasure ; and should I hear, ever after, that 
in place of pacific, any hostile dispositions break forth 
amongst his nation, towards my brethren, and children, I 
will say it is impossible : for I have the word of a Winne- 
bago, which must be true, that his people pledge their amity 
with mine, and have left this pipe in token of sincerity. 

" Say — I yesterday beheld with satisfaction the sports of 
himself and his associates, as they practised their ancient 
war-dance on the green beneath my windows. But a higher 
pleasure I now experience — and one, the memory of which 
will endure — in cordially greeting him within these walls, 
and reciprocating assurances of plighted concord." 

Each of these periods, as soon as interpreted, drew forth a 
hoarse plaudit from the savage auditors. Once, it swelled to 
a deafening howl, in acknowledgment of the compliment paid 
to the inviolable integrity of their word. 

It is a beautiful expression of moral sentiment, that the 
Indians were little moved by the compliment paid to their 



THE UNITED STATES. 



315 



dancing, but howled their satisfaction at the profession of a 
belief in their integrity. 

The fourth of July, 1826, having completed fifty years 
since the declaration of independence, the day was celebrated 
as a national jubilee. The retrospect was truly cheering 
and delightful. The annals of the world exhibit no previous 
example of so rapid a progress, in agriculture and commerce, 
the arts, manufactures, and population. From weakness, 
the states had advanced to strength ; from infancy, to man- 
hood; from thirteen, they had increased in number to twenty- 
four ; from a population of three millions, .thinly scattered 
along the border of the Atlantic, they had increased to ten 
millions, spread beyond the banks of the Mississippi, to the 
base of the Rocky Mountains ; and, as if to mark the fiftieth 
anniversary of the nation's birth, by events of signal and un- 
precedented coincidence, Adams and Jefferson, two of the 
signers of the declaration of independence, of the three who 
were yet permitted to witness their country's happiness and 
glory, beheld the sun of that joyous day arise, and beheld it 
for the last time. Mr. Jefferson died at his seat at Monti- 
cello, Virginia, at one o'clock in the afternoon of the fourth 
of July, in his eighty-fourth year ; Mr. Adams, at Quincy, 
Massachusetts, in his ninety-first. They were the only sur- 
viving members of the committee appointed to draft the de- 
claration : Mr. Jefferson was himself the composer of that 
celebrated instrument ; they had both been presidents of the 
United States ; they were the most distinguished leaders of 
their respective political parties; Mr. Jefferson had expressed 
a strong desire to see the jubilee of American independence; 
Mr. Adams expressed his patriotic feelings in a sentiment, to 
be used that day at the festive board. 

The nation mourned their loss. By an order of the presi- 
dent, appropriate funeral honours were rendered at all the 
military and naval stations, and the officers directed to wear 
badges of mourning for six months ; and in the principal 
cities and towns, days were set apart for the same purpose, 
and funeral processions and eulogiums manifested a universal 
sentiment of national sorrow. 



316 



HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER XVL 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Canals and Rail-roads. Tariff. 

The want of sufficient skill and perseverance, not less than 
of adequate pecuniary means, had long rendered abortive 
every attempt to facilitate the intercourse between the distant 
parts of the United States, by artificial navigation. To New 
York, is due, the enviable honour of having accomplished 
the first American canal of any considerable extent. The 
project of uniting the waters of the lakes on its north-western 
border, with the Atlantic, had early employed the attention 
of public-spirited and scientific men, in that enterprising 
state. In 1810, the legislature appointed a board of com- 
missioners, to investigate the subject. They reported, that 
the object was of immense utility, but that, in their opinion, 
the expense was too great for individuals or private corpora- 
tions, and that it ought to be undertaken by the national 
government, or individual states. The legislature accord- 
ingly directed application to be made for assistance to con- 
gress, and to several of the state legislatures supposed to be 
the most deeply interested in the project: these applications, 
however, were unsuccessful, and all further proceedings 
were suspended by the war of 1812. 

Soon after the peace, in 1815, the state of New York, 
with great energy, resumed her favourite design, relying alto- 
gether on her own resources ; and connecting, at the same 
time, with this greater object, the plan of a canal from the 
Hudson to lake Champlain. The same commissioners were 
appointed for both purposes; and, after a serious opposition, 
overcome chiefly by the resolution and perseverance of De 
Witt Clinton, the legislature determined to commence the 
work. Operations began on the fourth of July, 1817 ; and 
the first boat from lake Erie arrived at New York on thf 
twenty-sixth of October, 1825. The w T hole length of the 
Erie Canal is three hundred and fifty three miles. The for 
mation of the Champlain canal, extending near the margin 
of the Hudson river, and lake George, in length sixty-one 
miles, proceeded at the same time ; and the expenses of 
both, constituting the canal debt, amounted to nine millions 
six hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



317 



The utility of these canals, and the transportation effected 
by them, surpassed the most sanguine expectations. The 
annual receipt of tolls, now exceeds one million of dollars. 
The canal fund will speedily extinguish the debt, and the 
tolls will be applicable to any purposes that the legislature 
may direct. 

Three communications between the Atlantic and the val- 
ley of the Mississippi, have since been undertaken : one, a 
canal and rail-road, by the state of Pennsylvania, from Phila- 
delphia to Pittsburg the second, a rail-road from Baltimore 
to the Ohio river ;f the third, a canal from the Potomac, at 
Georgetown, to the Ohio.J Besides these, there have also 
been completed what is called a slack-water navigation, on 
the river Schuylkill, from Philadelphia to Pottsville ; the 
Union Canal, connecting the Susquehanna at Middleton, with 
the Schuylkill at Reading; and a canal without locks, by 
which vessels can pass from the Delaware to the Chesapeake 
Bay.§ 

Another great enterprise, to which the Erie and Hudson 
Canal gave birth, and which is intimately connected with it, 
is a canal leading from Cleaveland, on lake Erie, to the 
mouth of the Scioto, on the Ohio river. The ceremony of 
removing the first shovel-full of earth, was performed by 
governor Clinton, invited from New York, for that purpose, 
on the fourth of July, 1825; and the first boats reached 
Cincinnati, by this navigation, on the seventeenth of March, 
1828. The work was ^undertaken solely by the state of 
Ohio, and, when completed, will open an inland navigation 
from the city of New York to New Orleans, a distance of 
nearly three thousand miles. 

Two hundred large boats, driven by steam, are now plying 
on the western waters, and their number is rapidly increas- 
ing. 

Within tne last ten years, Pennsylvania has enriched her- 
self, to a dc gree unparalleled, by her coal mines of boundless 
extent, particularly in the counties of Schuylkill and Lu- 
zerne ; the very existence of which, before that oeriod, was 



* Commenced in the summer of 1826: the estimated expense, about 
thirteen millions. 

f The corner-stone laid the fourth of July, 1 828, by the venerable 
ChaHes Carroll. 

t The first spade put into the ground on the same day, by John 
Qnincy Adams. 

§ Commenced, the fifth of April, 1824 ; completed, the fourth of July, 
1829. 

27* 



318 



HISTORY OF 



but little known. North Carolina and Georgia, alsc, boast 
of the discovery of rich mines of gold ; an event, from wmch 
they may receive some pecuniary benefit ; but the iron and 
coal mines of Pennsylvania, instead of demoralizing her popu- 
lation, will promote industry and habits of good order, and 
confer upon her citizens more substantial wealth, than the 
diamonds of Golconda, or the gold and silver of Peru. 

On the second of April, 1827, was laid the corner-ston3 
of the Naval Asylum of the United States. This institution, 
situated on the left bank of the river Schuylkill, near Phila- 
delphia, and designed as a place of refuge for disabled offi 
cers, seamen, and marines, as regards extent, solidity, and 
beauty of architectural design, would do honour to any coun- 
try in the world. The expense of the building was defrayed 
out of a fund raised by the monthly contributions of those 
employed in the naval service, which commenced in the 
year 1793. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

GREAT PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST. 



Election of general Jackson. View of his administration. 

1828 The approaching presidential election, in 1829, 
;• was the universal theme of political discussion in the 
preceding year. At no period since the organization of the 
federal constitution, had the people been so strongly excited 
in their respective hostility to one, candidate, and their pre- 
dilection for another. The bond, which for more than half a 
century, had been strong enough to keep together the several 
parts of the great American Union, seemed now too weak to 
prevent its being torn asunder by the fury of electioneering 
vvarfare. 

A minute detail of the events of this election, we willingly 
exclude from this epitome. The contest ended in the choice 
of electors in November, 1828; and the result was, a tri- 
umphant majority in the electoral colleges for general Jack- 
son ; one hundred and seventy-eight votes for him, and 
eighty r three for Mr. Adams. The latter had the votes of 



THE UNITED STATES. 319 



New Jersey and Delaware ; all the New England votes, ex- 
cept one from Maine ; sixteen from New York, and five from 
Maryland. All the. other votes were for general Jackson. 

The close of a presidential term, especially when attended 
with a change of administration, is a proper period to review 
the past, and record the present condition of the country, in 
order to afford the means of comparing it with what it may 
be at the end of the succeeding term. 

The treasury report gave a detailed view of the finances 
under Mr. Adams's administration, compared with that of the 
preceding four years ; the material results of which, were, 
that the absolute increase of revenue exceeded eighteen mil- 
lions : that the tariff of 1824, by which the duties on foreign 
manufactured articles, for the encouragement of domestic in- 
dustry, were greatly enlarged, had considerably increased the 
receipts at the treasury : that the annual consumption of 
foreign merchandize, had, on an average, been eighteen per 
cent, more, than in the preceding four years: that all the ac- 
cruing interest, and more than thirty millions of the principal 
of the national debt, had been paid ; leaving its amount, on 
the first of January, 1830, about fifty-one millions, exclusive 
cf seven millions due to the bank of the United States, 
against which the government owned an equal amount of 
stock ; and that fourteen millions had been applied to per- 
manent internal improvements, and to objects of defence. 

The third of March, 1829, terminated the labours of the 
twentieth congress, and the administration of 1825. 

1830 f ^^ ie su ^j ect °f tne Cherokee Indians, was one of 
the most interesting questions that engaged the at- 
tention of the succeeding congress. As their last hope, the 
Indians sent a second delegation to the congress of 1829-30 
to solicit their protection. Their application was enforced 
by numerous memorials from citizens of the United States, 
who thought they saw in the proceedings of the general 
government, in relation to that unhappy people, the most 
flagrant injustice and violation of the public faith. Their 
claims were referred, as a matter of course, in both houses, 
to their respective committees on public affairs. Here, again, 
the unfortunate Indian found himself in the hands of his 
enemies. A majority of both committees were from states 
interested in obtaining the Indian lands, by whom the views 
of the administration, in relation to them, were sanctioned. 
Their reports adopted the new system ; abrogated the rights 
- of the Indians to their possessions, and to self-government., 



320 



HISTORY OF 



and sustained the state authorities in extending over them 
their jurisdiction. 

The fifth census, taken in the year 1830, shows the 
white and coloured population of the United States and ter- 
ritories, to be as follows : — 



Maine, 

N. Hampshire,. 
Massachusetts, . 
Rhode Island, . 
Connecticut, . . . 

Vermont, 

New York, 

New Jersey, . . . 
Pennsylvania, . . 

Delaware, 

Maryland, .... 
D. Columbia, . . 

Virginia, 

N. Carolina, . . . 



. 399,462 
. 269,533 
. 610,014 
. 97,210 
. 297,711 
. 280,679 
1,913,508 
. 320,779 
1,347,672 
. 76,739 
. 446,913 
. 39,858 
1,211,266 
. 738,470 



S. Carolina, .... 581,458 

Georgia, 516,567 

Kentucky, 688,844 

Tennessee, 684,822 

Ohio, - 937,679 

Indiana, 341,582 

Mississippi, 136,806 

Illinois, 157,575 

Louisiana, 215,791 

Missouri, 140,084 

Alabama, ; 309,206 

Michigan, 31,128 

Arkansas, 30,383 

Florida, 34,725 



Total, 12,856,464. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SIXTH CENSUS. 

1830—1840. 

Bank of the United States. General Jackson vetoes the hill for re- 
chartering it. Secretary of the Treasury removed. The Bank is 
rechartered by the legislature of Pennsylvania. Suspension of specie 
payments, throughout the United States. Distribution of the surplus 
revenue. Failure of the United States Bank, chartered by Pennsyl- 
vania. Revenue nullification by South Carolina. Tariff modified 
by the Compromise Act. Apprehended hostilities with France. Ar- 
kansas and Michigan. Martin Van Buren elected President. Com- 
mercial embarrassments. Exploring Expedition. Outbreak in 
Canada. Statistical Tables. 

The first session of congress, after the induction of General Jackson 
into the presidential chair, was signalized by the passage of a bill for the 
removal of the Indians, from the states on the eastern side of the Missis- 
sippi, to the territory assigned to them as their permanent abode, beyond 
that river. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



321 



Anticipating an application to congress, on the part of the Bank of the 
United States, for a renewal of its charter, General Jackson, in his first 
annual message, intimated, that the constitutionality, as well as expe- 
diency, of that institution, was very questionable ; and recommended the 
establishment of another fiscal agent, based upon the security of the gov- 
ernment and its revenues; and, in his message of December 7th, 1830, 
he again proposed a bank, which should be a branch of the treasury, with- 
out the power of issuing notes, lending money, or purchasing property of 
any kind. The rechartering of that bank, therefore, now assumed the 
character of a party question. The whole country, from one extremity 
to the other, became violently agitated ; and the people were called upon, 
at the elections, to decide in favour of the bank, or of General Jackson. 
At length, in the spring of 1832, a bill for the extension of its charter, 
with certain modifications, as regarded the issuing of notes, and the hold- 
ing of real estate, was, after long and irritating debates, carried, through 
both the senate and the house of representatives. The bill, however, 
failed to become a law, by the interposition of the presidential veto. Gene- 
ral Jackson having, in the mean time, been re-elected for a second term, 
in the beginning of the session which commenced in the month of De- 
cember, 1832, invited congress to make inquiry, whether or not the pub- 
lic money deposited in the bank, in conformity with the requisitions of 
its charter, could be considered entirely safe. A committee was accord- 
ingly appointed, to proceed to Philadelphia, to enter into the necessary 
investigation ; and a majority of its members made a voluminous report, 
concluding with a resolution, that " the government deposits might safely 
be continued in the bank of the United States/' A counter report, made 
by a minority of the same committee, expressed themselves of a different 
opinion ; setting forth a series of facts, evincing many signal instances 
of partiality in the administration of its loans, particularly to persons con- 
nected with the president of the institution, and some of the directors ; 
and a suit, subsequently brought, to recover debts due to the successor of 
the existing bank, demonstrated the degrading fact, that a sum, little short 
of ten thousand dollars, had been lent, by the bank, without any security 
whatever, to one of the committee who signed the exculpatory report. 
General Jackson coincided in opinion with the minority ; and, impressed 
with a belief, that its funds had been employed to influence the elections, 
he directed the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. William J. Duane, of 
Pennsylvania, to remove the deposits, and place them in some of the state 
banks, of the president's own selection. Considering that this order was 
an unconstitutional interference with the independent action of the head 
of that department, the secretary refused compliance with this mandate, 
and was dismissed from office. His successor, Mr. Roger B. Taney, of 
Maryland, on the first day of October, 1833, complied ; and, at the next 
meeting of congress, in December following, made a report, to both 
houses, as required by law, of those proceedings, and the motives by 
which they were prompted. The senate declared those motives to be 
wholly insufficient, and adopted a resolution, by a considerable majority, 
that " the president, in directing a removal of the deposits, had assumed 
an authority, not conferred by the constitution and laws, but in derogation 
of both." The president rejoined, by sending to the senate a protest, 
complaining that he had been condemned unheard, and insisting that they 
had no constitutional right to pass censure on his conduct, otherwise than 



322 



HISTORY OF 



by an impeachment by the house of representatives ; and the bank of the 
United States continued to be deprived of the government deposits. 

The bank seemed now on the eve of extinction ; when, by a sudden 
change of the relative strength of political parties, caused by a division 
of the democratic, or anti-bank party, in Pennsylvania, and a union of 
the whig and the newly organized antimasonic party, in that state, it 
succeeded, on the eighteenth day of February, 1836, in obtaining a new 
charter, from the legislature of Pennsylvania, to continue for a period of 
thirty years; but on very onerous conditions, the payment of more than 
five millions as a bonus ; and by means of subsidizing the opposition 
presses of the country ; employing a host of influential agents at the 
capital of the state ; and also corrupting not less than eight of the thirty- 
three members of the senate, and distributing large sums amongst mem- 
bers of the other house, to induce them to labour strenuously in favour 
of the desired charter. 

To compensate for these lavish and dishonest expenditures, the bank 
endeavoured, in various ways, to extend its discounts, and increase its 
circulating medium, by re-issuing the notes of the old bank, for sums 
under the amount to which the new bank was limited, and whose respon- 
sibilities it was bound, by its new charter, promptly to withdraw and 
redeem ; and by borrowing large sums of money in Europe, especially in 
England, to enable it to sustain its credit at home. 

Under the pretence of lessening the pressure upon the agricultural in- 
terests of the south, but, in reality, to meet its engagements abroad, it 
embarked in the purchase of cotton, amounting to immense sums; and 
also of various stocks. In short, it participated, or led the way, in the 
career of over-banking, and undue expansion of the system of credit, 
generally pursued by the moneyed institutions of the country, which 
produced the suspension of specie payments in the years 1837 and 1839. 

The distress occasioned by these general suspensions, was augmented 
by two measures ; one, the act of the executive of the Union ; the other, 
of congress. The first of these measures was the requiring of payment 
for sales of the public lands, exclusively in gold and silver coin ; the 
other, the apportionment, agreeably to the act of congress of June 23, 
1836, of the surplus revenue of the United States, remaining construc- 
tively in the treasury, but really deposited in certain banks, selected by 
the secretary of that department, on the.first day of January, 1837 (with 
the exception of five millions of dollars kept in reserve), amongst the 
several states ; the whole sum distributed, amounting to more than thirty- 
seven millions; to be paid over to the states, in four quarterly instalments, 
in proportion to the number of electoral votes given by each, in the choice 
of president. 

The suspension of specie payments, of 1837, began in the city of New 
York, on the 10th of May. In the same month, in the following year, 
specie payments were generally resumed throughout the Union. The 
United States Bank, in the mean time, continued to speculate beyond its 
resources ; and large drafts, made by that institution, upon Europe, hav- 
ing been refused acceptance, it once more suspended specie payments, on 
the 9th of October, 1839. The same course was immediately pursued 
in all the southern and western states ; in several of which, the legisla- 
tures themselves, in violation of the federal constitution, had engaged in 
the business of banking. By borrowing large sums in Europe, the Uni- 



THE UNITED STATES. 



323 



ted States Bank, however, still continued to sustain its payments, and it 
ventured to resume specie payments in 1841. But its credit was now so 
much impaired, that, in a few weeks, it was drained of all its specie ; and 
an investigation was then instituted, which proved the bank to be decidedly 
insolvent ; it finally closed its doors, its directors made particular and 
general assignments to trustees, for the benefit of its creditors, and its 
stock, the par value of which was one hundred dollars a share, rapidly 
declined in public estimation, until it reached the almost worthless price 
of one dollar. 

The year 1832 was remarkable for the attitude assumed by South Caro- 
ls, in order to induce the general government to abandon the course 
which it had for many years pursued, for the encouragement or protection 
of American manufactures. A convention of delegates, assembled at Co- 
lumbus in that state, declared the acts of congress, imposing duties on 
imported commodities, for any other purpose than that of revenue, to be 
unconstitutional, and of no binding force upon their constituents ; a mea- 
sure which has received the name of " nullification." The general gov- 
ernment, on the one hand, prepared to maintain the authority of the laws 
of the Union, by force ; and, on the other, the people of South Carolina 
seemed determined to resist, by every means in their power, any attempt 
to coerce them into submission. A fleet was despatched to Charleston, 
under the command of Commodore Elliott, and every thing portended the 
outbreak of a civil war, when tranquillity was restored, by the enactment, 
by congress, in March 1833, of the famous "compromise act," introduced 
by the distinguished patron of what was then denominated the American 
System, Henry Clay, of Kentucky; which, until the year 1842, gradually 
reduced the duties on imported manufactured commodities, to a certain 
ratio, approaching very nearly what was considered the constitutional 
revenue standard ; at which, it was intended they should ever afterwards 
be continued. 

In 1834, a hostile collision was apprehended between the United States 
and her revolutionary ally, France, on account of the French Chamber 
of Deputies having refused to make the appropriation required for tho 
execution of a treaty, concluded in 1831 ; by which, the French govern- 
ment stipulated to make indemnity for spoliations committed on American 
commerce, during the reign of Napoleon. In December, the president 
recommended that reprisals be made upon French commerce, in the event 
of the indemnity being any longer withheld; and, in the following month, 
the Court of Versailles, offended by the language of the president respect- 
ing France, in his message to congress, recalled his minister from the 
United States ; and, on the second of March following, on the motion of 
Mr. John Quincy Adams (formerly president of the United States), the 
house of representatives unanimously resolved, that, " in the opinion of 
the house, the treaty with France, of the fourth of July 1831, should be 
maintained, and its fulfilment insisted upon." Fortunately, a change, 
about this time, occurred in the French ministry, and the indemnity bill 
passed the Chamber of Deputies, on the eighteenth of April ; but, with 
the condition annexed, that the money, twenty-five millions of francs, was 
not to be paid, until the French government should have received satis- 
factory explanations with regard to the president's message of the pre- 
ceding December; a condition, with which the American government, in 
due time, complied. 



324 



HISTORY OF 



In 1S36, Arkansas was admitted into the Union, and, in the follow- 
ing year, Michigan ; being the twenty-seventh state ; and Martin Van 
Buren, of the state of New York, was installed in the presidential chair; 
but the year was chiefly remarkable for the extensive commercial embar- 
rassments which pervaded every part of the country, caused by the gene- 
ral suspension of payments for their notes, by the banks. The govern- 
ment expected most serious difficulties, in enforcing the payment of all 
moneys due to it, in specie; and was seriously embarrassed by the non- 
payment to it, by the suspended banks, of its own deposits ; and the 
president consequently deemed it expedient to call an extra session of 
congress. It met in September, and, besides authorizing an issue of trea- 
sury notes, to the amount of ten millions of dollars, to be receivable by 
the government in payment of public dues, it passed a law, postponing to 
January first, 1839, the payment, to the states, of the next instalment of 
the public revenue. 

The year 1838 is interesting to the American reader, on account of an 
" exploring expedition," fitted out by the general government. It con- 
sisted of the sloops of war, Vincennes and Peacock, the brig Porpoise, the 
schooners, Sea Gull and Flying Fish, and the Relief store-ship, entrusted 
to the command of an experienced officer, Lieutenant Wilkes, accompa- 
nied by several gentlemen, versed in various departments of science. The 
general course of the vessels (for they were not always together) was 
from Norfolk ; from which, they sailed on the eighteenth day of August, 
in the first place, to the island of Madeira; thence, to Rio Janeiro, and 
Orange Harbour, in Terra del Fuego ; and, after an exploration of the 
Antarctic Ocean, as far south as latitude 70°, and the islands which it 
contains, along the western coast of South America, to Valparaiso and 
Cailao. They then directed their course to Otaheite, visiting, by the way, 
the Paumotu cluster, situated to the east of Society Islands. From the 
latter, they proceeded to the Samoan or Navigator's group, and to Aus- 
tralia. At Sydney, where the officers and scientific men were hospitably- 
received by the British authorities, preparations were made for a second 
cruise in the Antarctic regions ; and, after this had been accomplished, 
they returned to Sydney. New Zealand was next visited, then the Friend- 
ly Islands, and subsequently the Feejee Islands. After this, the squadron 
assembled at the Sandwich Islands ; whence, Captain Wilkes sailed to 
explore the coasts of Oregon and Upper California. He next crossed the 
Pacific Ocean, to the Philippine Islands, proceeded then through the 
Sooloo Sea, to Singapore, and from this port directed his course home- 
wards, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope and the island of St. 
Helena, and arrived at New York,* after an absence, from the United 
States, of three years, nine months, and twenty-three days, Amongst the 
fruits of the voyage, in addition to the valuable labours of the scientific 
corps, who have deposited in the National Museum, at Washington, an 
immense number of curious and interesting specimens in their various 
departments, is the rectification of many errors in the existing charts, both 
of the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. 

Another event, worthy of notice, in the year 1838, was the commence- 
ment given to the transatlantic steam-packet navigation, by the arrival, at 
New York, from England, in the month of April, of the steamships Sirius 
and Great Western. 



* IQxh of June, 1S42. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



325 



An outbreak, which, about this time, occurred in the British provinces 
of Upper and Lower Canada, has, unhappily, become associated with the 
domestic history of the United States. — Previously to the year 1828, the 
Canadians, if not entirely free from a factious spirit, were not, in the 
main, unreasonable, either in their pretensions, or their behaviour. In 
that year, the whole subject of their grievances was brought before the 
British House of Commons. Several petitions came under their consi- 
deration, and the committee, to whom these grievances were referred, 
made their celebrated report. The most important petition, signed by 
about 87,000 inhabitants of Lower Canada, principally of French descent, 
residing in what are called the Seigniories, complained of arbitrary con- 
duct on the part of the governor ; of the appointment of none but crea- 
tures of the executive government, to the legislative council ; of the ille- 
gal appropriation of public money ; of violent prorogations and dissolutions 
of the provincial parliament ; of the connivance of the governor at the 
insolvency of the receiver-general ; and of certain acts of the imperial 
parliament, particularly the Canada Trade Act, and the Canada Tenures' 
Act. Another petition, signed by about ten thousand inhabitants of the 
townships, enumerated the grievances of the British portion of the com- 
munity. Amongst these, the most prominent were, the inconveniences to 
which they were exposed, by being made subject to French law and pro- 
cedure, and the inequality of their share of the representation. 

It may be mentioned, that throughout these unfortunate differences, no 
question ever existed with respect to the imposition of duties, or the levy- 
ing of money. The claims of either party were limited to the appropri- 
ating, what must, under any circumstances, be collected, and if not dis- 
posed of, must accumulate, from year to year, in the public chest. 

The famous resolutions of March, 1837, brought affairs to a crisis ; 
and the habitans, or French population of Lower Canada, a virtuous 
and well-disposed people, but whose extreme ignorance makes them apt 
tools for any demagogue, soon afterwards committed acts of open rebel- 
lion. The revolt was rapidly spreading, on all sides," when the authorities 
came to the determination of arresting Mr. Papineau, and some of his 
confederates, who were supposed to have taken up their quarters at the 
villages of St. Denis and St. Charles, both on the right bank of the river 
Richelieu, and about seven miles distant from each other. To detail the 
numerous actions which ensued, between the British forces and the Cana- 
dian insurgents, is foreign to the legitimate design of this history. After 
several engagements, in which the latter were occasionally successful, 
they were, in a few weeks, nearly subdued. On the sixteenth of Decem- 
ber, Sir John Colborne, the commander of the royal troops, returned to 
Montreal, and a single regiment sufficed to accomplish the reduction, or 
rather to receive the submission of what remained of the insurgents. 

" Thus," says Lord Gosford, the governor of Canada, in the despatch 
which detailed these events, " have the measures adopted for putting down 
this reckless revolt, been crowned with success. "Wherever an armed 
body has shown itself, it has been completely dispersed ; the principal 
leaders and instigators have been killed, taken, or forced into exile ; there 
is no longer a head, concert, or organization, amongst the deluded and 
betrayed habitans; none of the newspaper organs of revolt in the pro- 
vince are any longer in existence ; and, in the short space of a month, a 
28 



326 



HISTORY OF 



rebellion, which wore so threatening an aspect, has, with much less loss 
of life than could have been expected, been effectually put down." 

Of the principal leaders in this unhappy outbreak, four were killed, 
eight taken, and nine escaped. For some time, considerable uncertainty 
prevailed, as to the fate of Mr. Papineau ; but, it at length appeared, that 
he was safely settled in the state of New York ; whither he had with- 
drawn, on the first appearance of the war. 

It was natural, that this insurrection in Canada should have excited a 
good deal of sympathy, amongst a large class of the people of the United 
States. But, unfortunately, a much less excusable sentiment prevailed on 
this side of the border ; and there were few, if any, to be found amongst 
the large bodies of men who were organized at different points, with a 
view to the invasion of Canada, who could plead a higher motive than 
was suggested by their rapacity, and a desire to repeat, at the expense of 
the hardy Britons of Canada, the experiment so successfully made in Texas. 

The news of the rising in Lower Canada, was the signal for action 
on the part of the malcontents in the Upper Province. On the seventh 
of December, the loyalists, under the command of Col. Allen McNab, 
speaker of the House of Assembly, marching from Toronto, made an 
attack upon W. L. Mackenzie's band, in its position at Montgomery's 
Tavern ; when a total rout of the rebels ensued, and their commander, in 
a state of the greatest agitation, ran away. 

After the dispersion of his associates, he fled, in disguise, to Buffalo, in 
the state of New York. Here, he succeeded in animating the inhabitants 
with a strong desire to become the possessors of Upper Canada. Great 
numbers of men enlisted, with the avowed object of invading that pro- 
vince, and establishing a provincial government. Public meetings were 
convened, volunteers invited, and arms, ammunition, and provisions, 
openly contributed. Nor did the so-styled sympathizers rely entirely on 
the resources and liberality of private individuals. The state arsenals 
were laid under contribution ; and, whether obtained by stealth or by vio- 
lence, artillery and munitions of war, belonging to the United States 
government, were, in the most public manner, and in the face of the 
American authorities, employed, for the purpose of invading the provin- 
cial territory of Great Britain. 

The president of the United States, and the governor of New York, 
did, indeed, by proclamations, and a certain military demonstration, affect 
to discountenance these lawless proceedings. But these displays produced 
no effect, nor were any real impediments, at this time, offered to the move- 
ments of these piratical marauders. 

On the thirteenth of December, several hundred American citizens, 
under the command of Mr. Van Renssellaer, took possession of a small 
wooded island, in the Niagara river, about two miles above the Falls, 
called Navy Island, and forming part of Canada. They were supplied, 
from Buffalo and the neighbouring country, with stores and provisions; 
and transported artillery, the property of the state, without interruption. 
Handbills, called proclamations of the provincial government, were cir- 
culated, whereby, three hundred acres, of the most valuable land in Cana- 
da, and one hundred dollars in silver, were promised to every volunteer 
who would join the patriot forces on Navy Island ; and five hundred 
pounds were offered for the apprehension of Sir Francis Head. 

Their number rapidly increased, and was variously stated, at from five 



THE UNITED STATES. 



327 



hundred to fifteen hundred ; of whom, only a small proportion were 
Canadians ; and, proceeding to throw up intrenchments, they continually 
menaced the opposite bank of the river. 

A body of militia was posted on the Canadian side, under the com- 
mand of Col. McNab ; who received orders to confine his operations to 
the defensive, and to be especially careful to avoid any violation of the 
American territory. It was not long before the marauders on Navy Is- 
land opened a fire of artillery upon the Canada shore, which, in that part, 
is thickly peopled : the distance from the island being about six hundred 
yards, and the populous village of Chippewa within sight. 

This banditti drew the greater part of their supplies from a landing 
place on the American shore, called Fort Schlosser, nearly opposite, but 
which consisted merely of a solitary tavern, with a wharf. This house 
was a rendezvous for the " sympathizers," and a place of constant resort 
to the adventurers on Navy Island. On the twenty-eighth of December, 
Col. McNab received information, that a small steamer, called the Caro- 
line, had been hired by them, for their communication with the main land. 
This vessel, he resolved to destroy, should he find her so engaged. 

Having ascertained that she made repeated passages to the island, and 
had even transported a piece of artillery from the shore, he despatched a 
party of militia, in boats, to take or sink her. They found the vessel 
moored to the wharf, opposite the tavern, and strongly guarded by parties, 
both on deck and on shore. The militia boarded, and overpowered her 
defenders, after a desperate struggle, in which one of the Americans 
was killed, and several of the militia wounded ; and then setting her 
on fire, suffered her to drift, in flames, down the falls of Niagara. 

This transaction caused considerable excitement in the United States, 
where the most exaggerated versions of it were at first circulated ; and it 
was generally believed that the passengers and crew of the Caroline, a 
peaceable and unarmed party, men, women, and children, had been butch- 
ered, under circumstances of the most unprovoked aggression. But, after 
a short time, the real nature of the affair could not be disguised. The 
Caroline seems to have been considered, on all sides, as a piratical 
vessel, and the only question that remained would have turned upon 
the alleged violation of the American territory; but this, the governor of 
New York wisely abstained from seriously agitating. 

A sufficient force was at length collected, in Canada, to dislodge the 
freebooters on Navy Island ; but they declined to await an assault ; and, 
on the night of the fourteenth of January, decamped. On reaching the 
United States territory, Van Renssellaer was arrested, and held to bail by 
the American authorities; who, at the same time, gained possession of 
the ammunition and stores, of which they had permitted the arsenals to be 
despoiled. 

The " patriots" now changed the theatre of war, and, while some par- 
ties at Detroit and other places in the vicinity, menaced the western 
extremity of the British possessions, others made a demonstration of 
attacking Kingston ; but, terrified by the approach of a small body of 
militia, they fled, without any affectation of resistance. Nor did those 
confederates at Detroit, display more heroism. Sharp conflicts, however, 
ensued, in various places, with inconsiderable loss on either side; by far 
the greater part of the marauders being American citizens. 

Amongst the more prominent of the citizens, against whom prosecu- 
tions had been instituted, in Upper Canada, were Samuel Lount, James 



328 



HISTORY OF 



Morrow, and Peter Mathers ; the first two, natives of the United States. 
Being brought to trial, they pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to death, 
and executed ; and many others, Canadians as well as American citizens, 
were transported to the penal colonies of Great Britain. 

But tranquillity was not finally restored, by these salutary measures. 
The marauders on the American side of the border, were actively pre- 
paring for a renewal of hostilities and on the thirtieth of May, a band 
of these outlaws, headed by one Johnson, boarded a British steamer, the 
" Sir Robert Peel," lying alongside of a wharf at Wells' Island, in the 
river St. Lawrence, and belonging to the United States. The passengers 
having been robbed of their money and other valuable effects, were forced 
on shore ; and the vessel was then set on fire, and abandoned. Lord 
Durham, the governor of the Canadas, who had just arrived from Eng- 
land, offered one thousand pounds reward, for the discovery and convic- 
tion of the offenders. Johnson, however, set the authorities, British as 
well as American, at defiance, retreated to the cluster of isles known as 
the Thousand Islands, became the terror of the coast, and executed his 
schemes of plunder and violence with equal impunity and success. 

About the middle of October, the rebellion was renewed in Lower 
Canada, and in the early part of November, about fourteen thousand 
insurgents were collected at Napierville, in La Prairie, under the command 
of Dr. Robert Nelson, Dr. Cote, and one Gagnon ; but, by the active 
exertions of the military and civil power, the insurgents were easily 
dispersed. 

While the war was thus easily suppressed in Lower Canada, the 
American Sympathizers were not idle, on their side. On the evening of 
the twelfth of November, they effected a landing, at a place called Pres- 
cott, on the St. Lawrence, in Upper Canada, to the number of five hun- 
dred 5 carrying with them several field-pieces. An arrangement for 
attacking this banditti was concerted, between Captain Sandon, of the 
Royal Navy, and Colonel Young. The former of these officers, with three 
armed steamers, moved along the shore ; while the other, at the head of a 
small body of militia, supported by parties of regulars and marines, ad- 
vanced against the enemy, who were drawn up to receive them, to the 
number of three or four hundred ; when, after a short combat, a part of 
the sympathizers were routed, and the remainder threw themselves into a 
large stone building, and a circular wind-mill ; and it was not until after 
the arrival of large re-inforcements, and a considerable loss of life on the 
part of the British and Canadians, that the besieged, in number one hun- 
dred and fifty-nine, were compelled to surrender ; when they were con- 
veyed to Kingston, to be tried by court-martial. 

These lawless bands continued, during the remainder of the year, a 
system of desultory menaces and aggression, on various points of the 
American territory. On the fourth of December, at day-break, about four 
hundred brigands landed, near Sedgwick, at the western extremity of Upper 
Canada. After burning a steam-boat, they set fire to the barracks, in 
which two militia-men perished, shot the sentry and an individual who 
refused to join them, and, in the most barbarous manner, murdered Dr. 
Hume, a military surgeon ; who, having mistaken them for provincial 
militia, approached their ranks, arid fell unarmed into their hands ; when, 
having been attacked by a body of militia, they were dispersed, with the 
loss of twenty -six killed and as many captured. 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



SIXTH CENSUS, 1840. 

GENERAL TABLE OF PERSONS. 



States and Territories. 


Free white 
Males. 


Free white 
Females. 


F-ee col'd 
Males. 


Free col'd 
Females. 


Male 
Slaves. 


Female 
Slaves. 


Total. 




252,989 


247,449 


720 


635 








150,739 


New Hampshire - - - 


139,001 


145,032 


248 


289 





1 


284,574 


Massachusetts - - - - 


360,679 


368,351 


4,654 


4,015 







737,699 


Rhode Island - - - - 


51,362 


54,225 


1,413 


1,825 


1 


4 


108,830 




148,300 


153,556 


3,891 


4,214 


8 


9 


309,978 








364 








9Q1 QiQ 




1,207,357 


1,17T533 


23,809 


26,2] 8 


— 


4 


2,428,921 




177,055 


174,533 


10,780 


10,264 


303 


371 


o/o,oUo 


Pennsylvania - - - - 


844,770 


831,345 


22,752 


25,102 


35 


29 


1,724,033 


Delaware - — - - - 


29,259 


29,302 


8,626 


8,293 


1,371 


1,234 


78,085 




158.636 


159,081 


29,173 


32,847 


45,959 


43,536 


469,232 




371,223 


369,745 


23,818 


26,024 


228,661 


220,326 


1,239,797 


North Carolina - - - - 


240,047 


244,823 


11,227 


11,505 


123,546 


122,271 


753,419 


South Carolina - - - - 


130,496 


128,588 


3,864 


4,412 


158,678 


168,361 


594,398 




210,534 


197,161 


1,374 


1,379 


139,335 


141,609 


691,392 




176,692 


158,493 


1,030 


1,009 


127,360 


126,172 


590,756 




97,256 


81,818 


715 


651 


98,003 


97,208 


375,651 




89,747 


68,710 


11,526 


13,976 


86,529 


81,923 


352,411 




325,434 


315,193 


2,796 


2,728 


91,477 


91,582 


829,210 




305,323 


284,930 


3,761 


3,556 


91.004 


91,254 


779,828 




775,360 


726,762 


8,740 


8,602 


2 


1 


1,519,467 




: 352,773 


325,925 


3,73] 


3,434 


1 


2 


685,866 




255,235 


217,019 


1,876 


1,722 


168 


163 


476,183 




173,470 


*0,418 


883 


691 


28,742 


29,498 


383,702 




42,211 


34,963 


248 


217 


10,119 


9,816 


97,574 




113,395 


98,165 


393 


314 






212.267 


Florida Territory - - - 


16,456 


11,487 


398 


419 


13,038 


12,679 


54,477 


Wisconsin Territory - - 


18,757 


11,992 


101 


84 


4 


7 


30,945 


Iowa Territory - - - - 


24,256 


18,668 


93 


79 


6 


10 


43,112 


District of Columbia - - 


14,822 


15,835 


3,453 


4,903 


2,058 


2,636 


43,712 


Total - - r 


7,219,276 


6,939,492 


186,457 


199,778 


1,246,408 


1,240,705 


17,062,566 


Total number of persons on board 


of vessels ol 


war in the United States' nav 


il service, June 1, 1840, 


6,100 


Grand total of the United States - 












17,068,666 



THE POPULATION CLASSED ACCORDING TO AGES. 

FREE WHITE PERSONS. 



Under five years of age - - - - 

Of five and under ten - - - - 

Of ten and under fifteen - - - 

Of fifteen and under twenty - - 

Of twenty and under thirty - - 

Of thirty and under forty - - - 

Of forty and under fifty - - - • 

Of fifty and under sixty- - - - ■ 

Of sixty and under seventy - - 

Of seventy and under eighty - - 

Of eighty and under ninety - - 
Of ninety and under one hundred 

Of one hundred and upwards - 

Total number of males - - - 



FEMALES. 

1,270,790 Under five years of age - - - - 1,203,349 

1,024.072 Of five and under ten 986,921 

S79,499 Of ten and under fifteen - - - - 836,588 

- 756,022 1 Of fifteen and under twenty - - - 792,168 

- 1,322.440 ! Of twenty and under thirty - - - 1,253,395 

- 866,431 Of thirty and under forty - - - - 779,097 

- 536,568 Of forty and under fifty - - - - 502,143 

- 314,505 J Of fifty and under sixtv - - - - 304,810 

- 174,226; Of sixty and under seventy - - - 173,299 

- 80,051 Of seventy and under eighty - - - 80,562 

- 21,679 Of eighty and under ninety - - - 23.964 

2,507: Of ninety and under one hundred - 3,231 

476 i Of one hundred and upwards - - 315 

- 7,249,266 Total number of females - - - - 6,939,842 

j Total number of free white persons, 14,189,107 



28* 



(329) 



330 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



POPULATION OF THE CHIEF CITIES AND TOWNS OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 



New York 312,710 

Philadelphia ------- 205,850 

Baltimore 102,313 

New Orleans 102,193 

Boston 93,383 

Cincinnati 46,338 

Brooklyn - - - - 36,233 

Albany 33,721 

Charleston (S. C.) ------ 29,261 

Washington City 23,864 

Providence --------- 23,171 

Louisville 21,210 

Pittsburgh - 21,115 



Lowell 20,796 

Rochester - - 20,191 

Richmond - -- -- -- -- 20,153 

Troy * 19,334 

Buffalo 18,213 

Newark (N. J.) 17,290 

St. Louis 16,469 

Portland - - 15.218 

Salem (Mass.) 15,082 

New Haven - -- -- -- -- 12,962 

Utica 12,782 

Mobile - -- 12,672 

New Bedford -------- 12,087 



REVENUE OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 







Internal 


Sales of lands 


Aggregate of Re- 
ceipts. 


Years. 


Customs. 


and direct 


and miscella- 






taxes. 


neous. 


1831 


$24,224,442 


$17,440 


$3,210,815 


$27,452,697 


1832 


28,465,237 


18,422 


2,623,381 


31,107,040 


1833 


29,032,509 


3,153 


3,967,682 


33,003,344 


1834 


16,214,957 


4,216 
14,723 


4,857,601 


21,076,774 


1835 


19,391,311 


4,757,601 


34,163,635 


1836 


23,409,940 


1,099 


4,877,180 


48,288,219 


1837 


11,165,970 




6,863,556 


18,029,528 


1838 


16,155,455 




3,214,184 


19,369,639 


1839 


23,136,397 




7,261,118 


30,397,515 



STATEMENT OF THE COINAGE OF THE MINT OF THE 
UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THAT OF THE BRANCH 
MINTS, FROM 1831 TO 1839, INCLUSIVE. 





GOLD. 


SILVER. 


COPPER. 




Years. 








Whole Value. 










Value. 


Value. 


Value. 




1831 


$714,270 00 


$8,175,600 00 


$33,603 60 


$3,923,473 60 


1832 


798,435 00 


2,579,000 00 


23,620 00 


3,401,055 00 


1833 


978,550 00 


2,759,000 00 


28,160 00 


3,765,710 00 


1834 


3,954,270 00 


8,415,002 00 


' 19,151 00 


7,388,423 00 


1835 


2,186,175 00 


3,443,003 00 


39,489 00 


5.668,667 00 


1836 


4,135,700 00 


3,606,100 00 


23,100 00 


7,764,900 00 


1837 


1,148,305 00 
1,809,595 00 


2,096,010 00 


55,583 00 


3,299,898 00 


1838 


2,333,243 00 


63,702 00 


4,206,540 00 


1839 


1,355,885 00 


2,189,296 00 


31,286 61 


3,576,467 60 



EMINENT PERSONS WHO DIED, BETWEEN THE PE- 
RIODS OF THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CENSUS. 



James Monroe - 
Gen. Sumpter - - June, ' 1832, 
Com. John Rodgers May 24,1832, 
Col. Samuel Ward, 
Charles Carroll, Nov. 14, 

Com, Tucker 

John Randolph - - Mav 24,1833, 
Com.W. Bainbridge July 27,1833, 




William Wirt Feb. 18, 1834, aged 61 yrs. 

Gen. La Favette May 20, 1834, " 76 

Chief Justice Marshall, July 6, 1835, " 80 

Edward Livingston, 1835, " 71 

James Madison June 28, 1836, " 85 

Aaron Burr " "84 

Bishop White July 17, " M 87 

Bushrod Washington, Nov. 26, " " 70 



IND 



EX. 



A. 

Adair, general, 287. 

Adams, John, 98, 100, 120, 124, 127, 

188, 203, 212, 217, 315. 
Adams, John Quincy, 273, 291, 297, 

313, 318, 323. 
Adams, Samuel, 104, 124, 307. 
Alabama, 295. 
Albany, 71, 84. 
Alexandria, 281. 
Algiers, 198, 217. 
Allen, captain, 266. 
Allen, colonel, 103, 111. 
Andre, major, 169. 
Annapolis, 69. 
Arkansas, 324. 

Armistead, major, 246, 256, 282, 283. 
Armstrong, gen. 189, 270, 271, 279. 
Arnold, gen. 103, 110, 112, 113, 114, 

116, 134, 140, 142, 168, 169, 173. 
Augusta, 79. 

B. 

Bacon, col. 38. 

Bainbridge, com. 218, 249. 

Baltimore city, 68, 234, 281, 283, 300. 

Baltimore, lord, 68, 76. 

Banks, 172, 204, 289, 290, 291, 292, 

321, 322, 323. 
Barclay, governor, 73. 
Barlow, Joel, 297. 
Barney, com. 144, 213, 277, 279. 
Barre, col. 89. 
Barron, com. 230, 231, 293. 
Barton, col. 133. 
Bayard, James A. 273. 
Beckwith, gen. 261, 262, 263. 
Benezet, Anthony, 300. 
Bennington, 141. 
Berkely, sir W. 36, 37, 70. 
Biddle, capt. 275. 
Bladensburg, 278. 
Blakely, capt. 275. 
Blennerhasset, 227. 
Boon, col. 208. 
Boston, 51, 300. 
Boyd, gen. 245, 258, 259, 271. 
Boylestone, Dr. 195. 
Braddock, gen. 85, 86. 
Brandywine, 136. 



Breed's Hill. See Bunker's Hill. 

Brock, gen. 245. 

Brown, gen. 248, 258, 273, 276. 

Brown, Robert, 46. 

Brownstown, 240. 

Buffaloe, 272. 

Bunker's Hill, 104, 105, 106, 311. 
Buonaparte, Jerome, 299. 
Buonaparte, Joseph, 299. 
Buonaparte, Napoleon, 212, 229, £3&^ 

254, 273, 274, 277. 
Burgoyne, gen. 104, 105, 135, 140. 

141, 142, 143. 
Burke, Edmund, 187. 
Burlington bay, 257. 
Burr, col. 217, 226, 227. 
Burroughs, lieut. 266. 
Bute, lord, 92. 

C. 

Cabot, 19. 

Calvert, sir George, 68. 

Cambridge, 66. 

Camden, 160, 180. 

Canada, 86, 87, 325, 326, 327, 328. 

Canals, 316, 317. 

Carleton, gen. Ill, 113, 116. 

Carroll, gen. 285. 

Carver, John, 47. 

Cassin, com. 261. 

Census, sixth, 329, 330. 

Chamblee, fort, 111. 

Champlain, lake, 283. 

Chandler, gen. 257. 

Charleston, 70, 119, 156, 157, 300. 

Charlestown, 51, 106, 119, 156, 157. 

Chatham, lord, 86, 93, 101, 187. 

Chauncey, com. 248, 257, 258, 259, 

272, 273. 
Chesapeake, 26. 
Chester, 75, 79. 
Cheves, Langdon, 273, 292. 
Chippeway, 276. 
Christie, col. 245. 
Chrystler's-field, 271. 
Clay, Henry, 273, 291, 307, 308, 323. 
Clayton, Dr. 197. 
Clermont, 173. 
Cleveland, col. 162, 163. 
Clinton, American gen* 172. 

(331) 



332 



INDEX. 



Clinton, British gen. 104, 105, 119, 
125, 126, 146, 156, 157, 158, 172, 
181, 182, 183, 184. 

Clinton, De Witt, 315. 

Coal Mines, 317. 

Cochrane, adm. 277, 282, 283. 

Cockburn, adm. 260, 262, 263, 278. 

Coddington, William, 52. 

Coffee, gen. 285, 286. 

College, Dartmouth, 67. 

College, Harvard, 65. 

College, New Haven, 67. 

College, Princeton, 73. 

College, William & Mary, 38. 

College, Yale, 67. 

Colonization, 311. 

Columbia, District of, 216. 

Columbus, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 

Concord, 102. 

Congress, old, 91, 100, 106, 130, 137, 

147, 190. 
Connecticut, 52, 193. 
Constitution, federal, 199. 
Cotton, Rev. Mr. 51. 
Cornwallis, lord, 129, 131, 136, 158, 

160, 174, 175, 176, 177, 179, 180, 

181, 182, 184, 185. 
Cotton, culture of, 70. 
Cowpens, 174. 
Craney Island, 261. 
Oraw ford, Mr. 307. 
Croghan, col. 266, 267. 
Crown-point, 103. 
Crutchfield, major, 262. 

D. 

Dale, com. 218. 
Davis, col. 259. 
Deane, Silas, 145. 
Dearborne, gen. 244, 245, 256, 258. 
Death of eminent persons, 330. 
Debt, national, 204, 259. 
Decatur, com. 219, 242, 275, 293. 
D'Estaign, adm. 14S, 153, 154. 
De Grasse, adm. 170, 182, 183, 1S5. 
De Guichen, adm. 167, 168, 170. 
De Kalb, baron, 160, 161. 
Delaware, lord, 31, 32. 
Delaware, state, 71, 74, 78, 193. 
Derna, 220, 221. 
De Ternay, adm. 167, 170. 
Detroit, 238, 239, 268. 
Dickenson, gen. 133. 
Dickenson, John, 93, 100. 
Dinwiddie, governor, 82. 
Dorchester, 51, 118. 
Dover, 53. 

Drummond. gen. 276. 
Duane, W. J. 321. 
Dudley, Thoma3, 50, 



Du Portail, gen. 185. 
Duquesne, fort, 84, 107. 

E. 

Eaton, gen. 220, 221. 
Elholm, capt. 155. 
Elizabeth Islands, 59. 
Elizabethtown, 73. 
Elliot, lieut. 267 ; afterwards com. 
323. 

Elliott, gen. 170. 
Elliott, Rev. Mr. 66. 
Embargo, 231, 232. 
Endicott, afovernor, 49, 51. 
Erie, fort, 256, 276. 
Erie, lake, 248, 267. 
Eutaw, 180. 
Exeter. 54. 

Exploring Expedition, 324. 
F. 

Falmouth, 110. 

Fenwick, col. 245. 

Fishing-creek, 161. 

Florida, 87, 170, 295, 303. 

Forsythe, col. 248, 254, 271. 

Fox, C. J. 187, 232. 

Fox. George, 58. 

France, 166, 172, 323. 

Franklin, Beni. 67, 85, 90, 115, 124, 

127, 138, 145, 188, 195, 196. 
Franklin, James, 67. 
Frenchtown, (Mich.) 250. 
Frenchtown, (Del.) 260. 
Fredericktown, 260. 
Fulton, Robert, 298, 299. 



G. 

Gage, gen. 98, 99, 102, 103, 104, 
105-. 

Gaines, gen. 276. 

Gallatin, Albert, 273, 291. 

Gates, gen. 108, 109, 142, 160, 164. 

Genet, M. 211. 

George, fort, 246, 256, 271. 

Georgetown, 260. 

Georgia, 79, 193, 194. 

Germantown, 75, 138. 

Gibbs, gen. 289. 

Gold mines, 318. 

Government, 192, 193. 199. 

Grafto'n, duke of, 93, 95. 

Great Meadows, 84. 

Greaves, adm. 182. 

Greene, col. 139. 

Greene, gen. 10S, 130, 135, 138, 146, 
165, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 180 
181. 



INDEX. 



333 



Grenville, George, 89. 
Guilford, 176. 

H. 

Hakluyt, Richard, 24, 25, 26. 
Hamilton, gen. 184, 199, 203, 204, 

205, 226, 227. 
Hampton, gen. 270, 271. 
Hampton, town, 117, 261. 
Hancock, John, 94, 99, 104, 106, 

124, 140. 
Hanging Rock, 159. 
Hardy, com. 263, 265. 
Harmar, gen. 209. 

Harrison, gen. 237, 244, 250, 251, 
252, 253, 267, 268, 269, 270. 

Hartford, 52. 

Havre de Grace, 260. 

Hazlewood, com. 140. 

Heath, gen. 99, 108. 

Henry, John, 234. 

Henry, Patrick, 90, 117. 

Hobkirk, Hill, 180. 

Holland, 171. 

Hooker, Rev. Mr. 52. 

Hopkins, com. 144. 

Hornet, 307. 

Howard, col. 174. 

Howe, adm. 119, 147. 

Howe, gen. 104, 105, 118, 119, 126, 
127, 128, 129, 133, 134, 135, 137, 
138, 140, 146, 148. 

Huger, gen. 175, 177. 

Hull, capt. 240, 241. 

Hull, gen. 237, 238, 239, 240. 

Hull, John, 57. 

Hutchinson, Ann, 52. 

Hutchinson, gov. 97. 

I. 

Illinois, 295. 

Independence, declaration of, 120. 
Indiana, 295. 

Indians, 42, 43, 44, 209, 312, 313, 

314, 319, 320. 
Indigo, 70. 
Izard, gen. 273. 

J. 

Jackson, gen. 285, 286, 287, 288, 

303, 307, 318, 319. 
Jamestown, 26, 29, 30, 82. 
Jay, John, 100, 188, 199, 203, 214. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 59, 93, 124, 203, 

212, 217, 223, 232, 315. 
Jesup, gen. 308. 
Johnson, col. 269. 
Jones, capt. 242. 
Jones, Paul, 144. 



Jubilee, 315. 
Judiciary, 201. 

K. 

Keane, gen. 287, 289. 
Kentucky, 207, 208. 
Kettle-creek, 152. 
King's-mountain, 162. 
Kniphausen, gen. 129, 136, 156, 164. 
Knox, gen. 127, 185, 203. 
Kosciuski, gen. 143. 

L. 

La Colle's Mill, 273. 

La Coose's House, 258, 259. 

La Fayette, 136, 146, 167, 181, 182, 

309, 310, 311. 
Lambert, gen. 287, 289. 
Langdon, John, 100. 
Laurens, col. 184, 186. 
Laurens, Henry, 140, 171, 188. 
Lawrence, capt. 249, 263, 264, 265. 
Lay, Benjamin, 302. 
Lee, Arthur, 145. 

Lee, gen. Charles, 108, 109, 128, 

129, 130, 146, 147. 
Lee, gen. Henry, 151, 176, 178, 206, 

235. 

Lee, R. H. 120, 124. 
Lewis and Clarke, 223. 
Lewistown, 79, 259. 
Lexington, 102, 103. 
Liberia, 311. 

Lincoln, gen. 142, 151, 153, 157, 187, 
199. 

Lingan, gen. 236. 
Livingston, chanc. 100, 202. 
Livingston, col. 113, 114. 
Logan, Mr. 196. 
Long Island, 71, 125. 
Louisiana, 82, 222, 223. 
Lovel, gen. 151. 

M. 

Macomb, gen. 271. 

Madison, James, 199, 204, 232, 279, 

295. 
Magnet, 7, 10. 
Maine, 54, 59, 295. 
Maize, 40. 
Manly, capt. 110. 
Marietta, 222. 

Marion, gen. 161, 162, 163, 177, 178, 
181. 

Martha's Vineyard, 59. 
Maryland, 68, 193, 194. 
Massachusetts, 48, 193, 194. 
Mather, Cotton, 61, 195. 
xM'Clure, gen. 254, 271. 



334 



INDEX. 



M'Donough, com. 273, 283. 
M'Dougall, gen. 127, 128, 138. 
Medical School, 77. 
Meigs, col. 134. 
Meigs, fort, 251, 252. 
Mercer, gen. 130, 132. 
Mexico, 303. 
M'Henry, fort, 282, 283. 
Michigan, 324. 
Michillimackinac, 238. 
Mifflin, fort, 138, 139. 
Mifflin, gen. 127, 138, 192. 
Military Academy, 290. 
Miller, capt. 279. 
Miller, gen. 240, 253. 
Mint, 290. 

Mississippi, river, 223. 
Mississippi, state, 295. 
Missouri, 295. 

Money, continental, 155, 172. 
Monmouth, 146. 
Monroe, James, 279, 293, 310. 
Monrovia, 311. 

Montgomery, gen. 108, 110, 111, 

113, 114. 
Montreal, 111, 271. 
Moor's Fields, 281. 
Morgan, gen. 114, 174, 175. 
Morocco, 217. 
Morris, capt. 242. 
Morris, Robert, 124. 
Motte, Mrs. 178. 
Moultrie, gen. 119, 151, 152. 
Mount Vernon, 83, 216. 
Murray, com. 218. 



N. 

Nantucket, 59. 
Naval Asylum, 318. 
Navy, 109, 110, 158, 263, 291, 294, 
295. 

Negroes ; see Slaves. 

Newark, (Canada,) 271. 

Newcastle, 74. 

New England, 45, 56. 

New Hampshire, 53, 193, 194. 

New Jersey, 71, 72, 193. 

New Orleans, 86, 223, 284, 285, 286, 

287, 288. 
New Plymouth, 47, 48, 59. 
Newport, 52, 100. 
New Providence, 144. 
New York, city, 53, 128, 190, 300. 
New York, state, 71, 193, 194. 
Newspapers, 67, 77. 
Niagara, battle, 276. 
Niagara, fort, 246, 271. 
Ninety-six, 180. 
Non-intercourse, 232. 
Norfolk, 117, 150, 261, 300. 



Norris, capt. 307. 

North Carolina, 21, 69, 194. 

North, lord, 95. 187. 

North Point, 282. 

Nova Scotia, 59. 

O. 

Ogdensburg, 248, 254. 
Ogechee, 155. 

Oglethorpe, gen. 79, 80, 81. 
Ohio, 222. 
Oswego, 275. 
Otis, James, 91. 

P. 

Packenham, gen. 287, 289. 
Paine, Thomas, 94, 299. 
Paoli tavern, 137. 
Parker, adm. 119. 
Patterson, com. 285, 286. 
Paulus Hook, 151. 
Paulding, John, 169. 
Pennsylvania, 71, 73, 193. 
Penn, William, 73, 74, 75, 76. 
Penobscot, 151. 
Pensacola, 285. 
Perry, com. 257, 268, 293. 
Peter, major, 278, 279. 
Philadelphia, 75, 137, 146, 300. 
Phipps, sir William, 59, 60, 63, 64, 
65. 

Pickens, col. 151, 174. 
Pike, gen. 225. 245, 248, 254, 255. 
Pirates, 303, 304. 
Pittsburg, 84, 300. 
Pitt, William, 187. 
Plattsburg, 259, 283, 284. 
Pocahuntas, 29, 32, 33. 
Pomeroy, gen. 99, 105, 108. 
Population, 35, 50, 57, 299, 300, 320, 
329 330. 

Porter, com. 249, 275, 304, 305, 306. 

Porter, gen. 256, 271, 276. 

Port Royal, 151. 

Portsmouth, R. I. 52. 

Portsmouth, N. H. 100. 

Postell, major, 177. 

Potato, 54. 

Powhatan, 29, 32, 33. 
Preble, com. 218, 219, 
President of the U. States, 199, 203. 
Prevost, gen. 149, 152, 258, 271, 283, 
284. 

Priestley, Dr. 299. 
Princeton, 73, 132. 
Printing, 67. 

Proctor, gen. 250, 251, 253, 267, 268, 
269. 

Providence, 52, 300. 
Pulaski, count, 136, 137. 
Putnam, gen. 105, 108, 133, 222. 



INDEX. 



335 



Quebec, 59, 82, 86, 111, 113. 
Queenstown, 245. 
Quincey, Josiah, 96. 

R. 

Railroads, 317. 
Raisin, river, 250. 
Raleigh, sir W. 21, 22, 23. 
Ramsay, Dr. 290. 
Randolph, Edmund, 203. 
Randolph, John, 308. 
Randolph, Peyton, 100, 106. 
Rawdon, lord, 158, 160, 180. 
Red Bank, 138, 139. 
Reed, col. 129, 145. 
Representatives, house of, 199, 200. 
Rhode Island, 52, 192, 193. 
Rice, 70. 
Richmond, 300. 
Ridgfield, 134. 
Ripley, gen. 271, 276. 
Rittenhouse, David, 195, 197 
Roanoke, 21, 22, 23. 
Robinson, Rev. John, 46. 
Rochambeau, gen. 167, 183, 185. 
Rockingham, marquis of, 92, 93, 187. 
Rodgers, com. 2S2. 
Rodney, adm. 170, 171. 
Rolfe, Mr. 32. 

Ross, gen. 277, 278, 280, 282. 
Roxborough, 51. 
Rush, Benjamin, 124, 206. 
Russei, Jonathan, 273. 
Rutledge, Edw. 100, 124, 127. 
Rutledge, John, 152, 156, 203. 

S. 

Sackett's Harbour, 258. 
Sagg Harbour, 134. 
Salem, 49, 50, 97, 99. 
Saitonstall, com. 151. 
Sandiford, Ralph, 302. 
Sandusky, fort, 267. 
Saratoga, 143. 

Savannah, 79, 148, 153, 186, 300. 
Saybrook, 53, 55. 
Schuyler, gen. 108, 110, 141. 
Scott, gen. 245, 256, 276. 
Senate of the U. States, 199, 200. 
Shay, Daniel, 198. 
Shelburne, lord, 187. 
Shelby, gov. 162, 269, 270. 
Shepherd, gen. 199. 
Sierra Leone, 301, 311. 
Slaves, 34, 68, 80, 300, 301, 312. 
Small-pox, 195. 
Smallwood, gen. 138. 
Smith, captain, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 
45, 47. 



Smith, gen. S. 139, 282, 283. 
Smyth, Gen. 245, 247. 
Somerset, 133. 

South American Republic, 303. 
South Carolina, 70, 193, 194. 
Spain, 169. 

Springfield, 52, 133, 199, 

Starke, gen. 105, 141. 

St. Clair, gen. 130, 141, 209. 

Steam-boat, 298. 

Steam-packet navigation, 324. 

Sterrett, captain, 217, 218. 

Stewart, captain, 275. 

St. George, fort. See Fort George. 

Stillwater, 142. 

Stirling, gen. lord, 126, 130, 135, 

139, 146. 
St. Johns, fort, 111. 
Stony-point, 150. 
Stonington, 275. 
Stono Ferry, 153. 
Strieker, gen. 282, 283. 
Stuyvesant, gov. 71, 72. 
Sugar, maple, 194. 
Sullivan, gen. 108,116, 125, 126, 130, 

135, 138. 
Sullivan's Island, 119. 
Sumpter, gen. 159, 160, 177. 
Sunbury, 149. 

T. 

Taney, Roger B. 321. 
Tarleton, col. 158, 174, 176. 
Taxes, British, 85, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 

95, 96. 
Tecumseh, 236, 269, 270. 
Tennessee, 222. 
Thames, 269. 

Thomas, gen. 99, 108, 116. 
Thomson, Charles, 90, 100, 297. 
Three Rivers, 116. 
Ticonderoga, 103, 140. 
Tippecanoe, 237. 
Titles, 193, 201. 
Tobacco, 34, 40, 53. 
Townshend, Charles, 89, 93. 
Treaty of Paris, 145, 188. 

of Greenville, 210. 

with French Repub. 212. 

Jay's with G. Brit. 214. 

with Tripoli, 221. 

of Ghent, 289. 
Trenton, 73, 130, 131, 132. 
Tripoli, 217, 218, 221. 
Truxton, com. 212. 
Tunis-, 217. 
Type-foundry, 194. 

V. 

Van Renssalaer, col. 245. 



336 



INDEX. 



Van Renssalaer, gen. 244, 245, 246, 
247. 

Van Wert, Isaac, 169. 
Veazy, col. 260. 
Vermont, 207, 208. 
Vespucci, Amerigo, 17, 18. 
Virginia, 21, 26, 35. 

W. 

Ward, gen. 99, 103, 108, 109. 

Warner, col. 103, 111, 141. 

Warren, adm. 249, 260. 

Warren, Dr. & gen. 94, 105, 106. 

Warrington, capt. 275. 

Washington, George, 82, 83, 84, 85, 
86, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 114, 
118, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 
130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 
138, 140, 146, 150, 166, 183, 185, 
186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 198, 199, 
201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 210, 211, 
212, 214, 215, 216, 228. 

Washington, Bushrod, 216. 

Washington, city, 216, 280, 300. 

Washington, col. 131, 173, 174. 



Wayne, gen. 135, 137, 138, 146, 150, 

181, 186, 209, 210. 
Weathersfield, 52. 
West Point, 160, 290. 
Wheelright, Rev. Mr. 54. 
White, col. 155. 
White Plains, 128. 
White, Rev. Mr. 48. 
Wilkinson, gen. 270, 271, 273. 
Williamsburg, 181. 
Williams, David, 169. 
Williams, Roger, 51. 
Winchester, gen. 250, 251. 
Winder, gen. 257, 277, 278, 279, 280, 

281, 282, 283. 
Winthrop, gov. 50. 
Wolfe, gen. 86. 
Woolman, John, 300. 
Wooster, gen. 108, 134. 

Y. 

Yeo, com. 258, 259. 

York, (Canada) 254, 255, 256. 

Yorktown, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185. 



THE END. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2010 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 



/ 



